Editor’s note: This is the first of a two-part series about successful NIU alumni.

When opportunity knocks some people go running to it, but when it knocks close to home the sweet smell of success is even sweeter.

Starting a business takes guts, but when it’s on home territory, the leaps and bounds may seem less intimidating. Some NIU alumni chose to stay in DeKalb and make their livelihood and raise their families in the friendly confines.

Mary Gogo-Wilson worked as a waitress at The Hillside Restaurant while she was a student at NIU. There she met her second husband, Gavin, who was a dishwasher at the time.

She was offered a management position after the original owners decided to open up another restaurant. Today, the two own the popular restaurant at 121 North Second St., that first opened in 1955.

Gogo-Wilson earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in art from NIU in 1978. Although her degree did not specifically train her for her present job, she said her education helped her out along the way.

“My degree helped me gain strong organizational skills and problem solving,” she said. “I couldn’t have made it without it.”

Gogo-Wilson said she can relate to the women who are struggling with their careers, and she had some advice to pass along.

“To the girls out there, I would like to tell them it is possible,” she said. “You have to work a little bit harder than the men and you get discouraged … but you can do it.”

Gogo-Wilson lives in DeKalb and also has two kids, ages 3 and 19, to tend to. She said at times it does get hectic, but she would not give it up for the world.

“Work hard and pay your dues,” she said. “Be a leader not a follower, and you will succeed in your job and with your family.”

Steven Enger, NIU 1984 graduate, admits he does not know if he could be a co-owner of NIB Computing if he had a family at the time.

“At first, every dime you get goes back into the business, which makes it hard to keep the dream alive,” he said. “It’s difficult to take a big risk when you have a family depending on you … I can’t say I would have taken the risk.”

Enger graduated with a master’s degree in management when he started the microcomputer and peripheral business at 400 E. Hillcrest St. He said success did not happen overnight, but he had always wanted to own a business.

“I just never left (DeKalb),” he said. “I always wanted to work for myself, and one day I just decided to do it.”

It was not the fear of failure, but other fears that crossed his mind, he said

“I never thought we would fail,” he said. “It was a matter (of) if we would get everything done.”

Enger said his friends told him he was crazy to try competing with the “big lines,” but he did not take that advice lying down.

“Each day is like rolling the dice all over again,” he said. “There’s a new risk every day.”

Enger, who also lives in DeKalb, said although he considers himself a success, he is still not where he wants to be yet.

“You have to keep setting goals every day,” he said. “I still keep thinking about that branch office in Hawaii.”