Kevin Raney (’90)

“I was struggling to maintain my grades while working nights at the FedEx hub, and Professor George Krupicka asked me if I really wanted to be an engineer, going so far as to suggest that it would probably be better if I changed my major. It was about that time that I met my wife, buckled down, and graduated. I am now proud to say that I’ve had my Professional Engineers License since January 2000.”

Kevin Raney jokes that he liked to give his money to CBU so much that he was a student for six-and-a-half years, starting in 1984 after graduating from CBHS and graduating with a BS in Mechanical Engineering in 1990. But he also says that if he hadn’t been on the extended graduation program, he would not have met his wife, Djana Brumley Raney (’91).

Upon graduation, Kevin took a job with Aircon Corporation as a Project Engineer. His engineering career then led him to positions with FKI Logistex, Accellent, and Diversified Conveyers before starting his own company, Raney Engineering, in 2014. Today, he is VP of Engineering for Aegis Sortation, a distribution technology company based in Louisville, KY.

Kevin says that the most important lesson he learned at CBU was that perseverance pays off. “After working my way through school,” he says, “I learned that even though mistakes and challenges come along regularly, it’s through those mistakes and challenges that I became a better engineer, husband, father, and person.”

Kevin and Djana are active parishioners of St. Louis Catholic Church, where Kevin is a member of the St. Louis Men’s Club and is co-director of its Hole-In-One Charity Festival. He is also the recipient of its Burke Award for Outstanding Service. In the community, he has volunteered for Memphis Catholic Charities and Room in the Inn. Kevin is also an avid runner and has served as Cross Country Coach for St. Louis School, as well as Race Director for the Frank Horton Cross Country Classic and a Road Race Course Measurer for USA Track & Field. He is a Board Member of the Memphis Runners Track Club and Memphis Youth Athletics.

Kevin and Djana have two adult daughters, both of whom are also engineers. Allison Raney is a graduate of the University of Alabama in Huntsville in Industrial Engineering and works for Jacobs Engineering Group in Huntsville. Reggie Raney Buczyna (Civil Engineering ’17) is also a CBU graduate and is married to Adam Buczyna (Accounting ’15). Reggie also works for Aegis Sortation as a Systems Engineer.

The friends that I made while at CBC/CBU continue to be my closest friends now. We regularly get together for events throughout the year and occasionally have taken group trips together, especially since we’re all getting to the empty nest stage of our lives.