COMMUNITY COLLEGE MONTH SPOTLIGHT: Wallace State allowed Bontrager opportunity to serve and learn  

HANCEVILLE, Ala. — When Christopher Bontrager entered the U.S. Army in 2007, he also wanted to pursue his higher education and chose Wallace State Community College to do that. The Cullman High School graduate attended Wallace State on and off from 2007 to 2009 while serving in the military.  

“I would have been much further behind in my pursuit of higher education and thus delaying my career trajectory,” said Bontrager, a commercial real estate consultant.   

Bontrager said the affordable cost of tuition and the flexibility of scheduling classes were two factors in his choosing Wallace State to begin his education.   

“Attending Wallace State provided me with a flexible and cost-effective way to continue my education around my early work in the military and later preparation to transfer to Auburn University,” Bontrager said.  

Bontrager said business instructor Terri-McGriff Waldrop was a great influence while at Cullman High School and at Wallace State. “Her guidance has been integral in my professional development,” he said.   

After completing classes on an off campus through 2009, Bontrager transferred to Auburn University, where he graduated in 2013 with a bachelor’s degree in Public Administration and a minor in Military Science, followed by a master’s degree in Public Administration, with a minor in Economic Development.  

He worked in northwest Alabama as the vice president of C3 of Northwest Alabama EDA, a three-county economic development alliance representing Lamar, Marion, and Fayette County. While at C3, Bontrager was the director of business retention and existing industry support as well as workforce development. He then served as the executive director of the Marengo County Economic Development Authority located in Linden, AL.  

Both Marengo County and the C3 Region experienced significant economic growth during Christopher’s tenure.   

He is currently the Southwest Portfolio Director for Retail Strategies, a municipal consulting firm based out of Birmingham. Retail Strategies works with municipalities across the country to recruit new businesses to their locale. 

“I am the face of the company in the Southwestern United States,” he added, serving the states of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, and Nebraska.  

Bontrager is a recipient of multiple military decorations, a graduate of the Intensive Economic Development Course (Auburn University), and the Honors Economic Development Course (University of Alabama, inaugural class). 

For more information about Wallace State, visit www.wallacestate.edu.  

Wallace State is celebrating Community College Month during April. Please visit www.wsccalumni.org/ccmonth20 for more information.