In Hispanic Heritage Month, we have a good time all of our Hispanic college students and alums of Cisco Networking Academy’s IT skills-to-jobs program. Debbie Gomez is one super-inspired particular person who’s sharing her ardour for know-how in her communities. As Founding father of Networking Academy’s Ladies Rock-IT Program, I take nice pleasure in sharing the affect of this program with folks like Debbie and the onflow affect they’ve of their communities.
“I’m not on the lookout for a job, I’m on the lookout for a profession.”
When “born and bred” Texan, Debbie Gomez, went from being a full-time mom of three youngsters to being a scholar at Collin County Neighborhood School, you might be forgiven for pondering it was a possibility to decelerate somewhat.
Apparently, that’s not in Debbie’s DNA—getting concerned and serving to folks is. Whilst a college scholar, Debbie spent summers in Mexico studying Spanish from the native youngsters and educating them English in return. It shouldn’t be a shock that when she enrolled in school, she would go all-in.
IT was Debbie’s first alternative
IT was Debbie’s first alternative, as a result of she had seen information tales concerning the demand for cybersecurity specialists. “I’m not on the lookout for a job, I’m on the lookout for a profession,” she says. “After I enrolled at Collin School I began as a cybersecurity main, however after taking some NetAcad lessons I noticed that I’m actually keen on the blinking lights—the routers and the switches—a lot in order that I modified my main to laptop networking.”
Assembly extra ladies in IT
“I attended Ladies Rock-IT in my first semester, I met a number of ladies within the trade, and one factor I actually cherished is that they get to journey and work. I need to have the ability to have that chance,” she says.
One other massive a part of the attraction to networking—and the Academy Program—was the hands-on expertise on provide.
Cybersecurity at Collin
“Cybersecurity at Collin is extra theoretical, and I used to be on the lookout for extra technical,” she says. “After I was in a position to mess around with the switches, the best way to patch cables, all of that received my consideration…and there’s a number of safety concerned in laptop networking as nicely, it’s virtually just like the gatekeeper, in order that’s what I actually loved.”
Debbie says she’s not alone in switching from the four-year Cybersecurity Bachelor’s Diploma course at Collin to the two-year Pc Networking Affiliate’s Diploma, and has even petitioned the faculty to broaden the Bachelor’s program to incorporate laptop networking. She’s hoping the faculty makes the change, although it will occur after she’s already accomplished her research. “It will be my legacy,” she says.
It wouldn’t be her solely legacy at Collin.
Networking with neighbors
When Debbie first began IT Necessities, she realized a number of contributors had earlier expertise that she lacked. “Virtually everyone that begins in tech has some sort of background in know-how,” she says.
“They’d most likely constructed a pc. I had not. I’d by no means opened a pc earlier than. So, attempting to maintain up with the tempo of the category, and desirous to spend extra time on the gear, I made a decision I wanted one thing to mess around with at residence,” she says. She put a notification in her neighborhood app asking whether or not anybody had any gear to donate. “I didn’t care if it labored or not, I simply wanted to interrupt it aside.”
“I had an enormous response, there’s a number of IT professionals who gave me switches, routers, wi-fi entry factors, a number of stuff,” she says.
Membership collaboration at Collin
Patrick Evans, Self-discipline Lead – Pc Networking Program, Collin County Neighborhood School, says the response was most likely so massive as a result of the Dallas space is a tech hub, housing quite a few acquainted tech companies, and even an enormous Cisco Buyer Expertise Heart on the identical highway as one of many Collin School campuses.
Beginning in with the gear in her storage, Debbie invited classmates to return over and collaborate, and, with the encouragement of Professor Evans, finally fashioned the Pc Science and Engineering Membership.
The membership gives a platform for mentorship and networking and is extra widespread than Debbie might have imagined. “I’ve by no means led a membership earlier than, we began very small, it was identical to 5 members,” she says. With greater than 200 present members, “we’re the largest membership proper now within the IT middle—we continue to grow!”
Debbie makes the Networking Academy Dream Staff
If persevering with to take care of her household, finding out, operating the membership, and a few internships weren’t sufficient, Debbie was additionally a part of the Dream Staff at Cisco Reside in Las Vegas in June 2023.
The Dream Staff consists of 5 Networking Academy college students who’re chosen from throughout the Americas, to work alongside Cisco engineers to assist arrange and keep the community on the occasion.
“It was superior to be taught from the community engineers,” she says. “I’m so glad that Professor Evans taught me the best way to patch cables…it got here in useful, as a result of the opposite Dream Teamers had by no means accomplished that earlier than. So I ended up displaying them the best way to put an RG45 on a cable!”
“It was superb,” she says. “It was among the best instances of my life. It was assembly lots of people, assembly a number of Cisco executives, studying from them, serving to arrange the community…it was very exhausting, nevertheless it was completely value it.”
Certifications to safe the dream
As if Debbie weren’t engaged sufficient, she has additionally accomplished the pre-apprenticeship part of the Cisco CX Apprenticeship Program. She achieved the required CCNA certification and is presently self-studying for the DevNet certification. DevNet is a requirement to finish through the second half, which is six months full-time paid work as a Technical Consulting Engineer inside Cisco’s Buyer Expertise group. “My dream profession is to work for Cisco,” she says.
Within the meantime, she’s making ready to take CCNP, her ultimate class at Collin School earlier than commencement within the Spring of 2024.
If the sheer variety of actions Debbie has engaged in since returning to review appears overwhelming, she dismisses it breezily: “I’m from Texas,” she says, “go massive or go residence!”
Discover extra inspiring success tales at netacad.com/careers/success-stories.
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