In Hispanic Heritage Month, we have a good time all of our Hispanic scholars and alums of Cisco Networking Academy’s IT skills-to-jobs program. Debbie Gomez is one super-inspired person who’s sharing her pastime for generation in her communities. As Founding father of Networking Academy’s Girls Rock-IT Program, I take nice excitement in sharing the affect of this program with other people like Debbie and the onflow affect they have got of their communities.
“I’m now not in search of a task, I’m in search of a profession.”
When “born and bred” Texan, Debbie Gomez, went from being a full-time mom of 3 youngsters to being a scholar at Collin County Neighborhood School, you should be forgiven for considering it was once a chance to decelerate a little bit.
It seems that, that’s now not in Debbie’s DNA—getting concerned and serving to other people is. Whilst a faculty scholar, Debbie spent summers in Mexico finding out Spanish from the native youngsters and educating them English in go back. It shouldn’t be a marvel that after she enrolled in faculty, she would move all-in.
IT was once Debbie’s first selection
IT was once Debbie’s first selection, as a result of she had observed information reviews in regards to the call for for cybersecurity professionals. “I’m now not in search of a task, I’m in search of a profession,” she says. “Once I enrolled at Collin School I began as a cybersecurity primary, however after taking some NetAcad categories I noticed that I’m in point of fact keen on the blinking lighting—the routers and the switches—such a lot in order that I modified my primary to pc networking.”
Assembly extra girls in IT
“I attended Girls Rock-IT in my first semester, I met a large number of girls within the trade, and something I in point of fact cherished is they get to shuttle and paintings. I need so to have that chance,” she says.
Every other large a part of the enchantment to networking—and the Academy Program—was once the hands-on revel in on be offering.
Cybersecurity at Collin
“Cybersecurity at Collin is extra theoretical, and I used to be in search of extra technical,” she says. “When I used to be in a position to mess around with the switches, the best way to patch cables, all of that were given my consideration…and there’s a large number of safety interested by pc networking as neatly, it’s nearly just like the gatekeeper, in order that’s what I in point of fact loved.”
Debbie says she’s now not by myself in switching from the four-year Cybersecurity Bachelor’s Stage path at Collin to the two-year Laptop Networking Affiliate’s Stage, and has even petitioned the varsity to extend the Bachelor’s program to incorporate pc networking. She’s hoping the varsity makes the exchange, even supposing it could occur after she’s already finished her research. “It could be my legacy,” she says.
It wouldn’t be her simplest legacy at Collin.
Networking with neighbors
When Debbie first began IT Necessities, she learned a large number of contributors had earlier revel in that she lacked. “Nearly everyone that begins in tech has some form of background in generation,” she says.
“They’d more than likely constructed a pc. I had now not. I’d by no means opened a pc prior to. So, seeking to stay alongside of the tempo of the category, and in need of to spend extra time at the apparatus, I made up our minds I wanted one thing to mess around with at house,” she says. She put a notification in her group app asking whether or not someone had any apparatus to donate. “I didn’t care if it labored or now not, I simply had to smash it aside.”
“I had an enormous reaction, there’s a large number of IT pros who gave me switches, routers, wi-fi get entry to issues, a large number of stuff,” she says.
Membership collaboration at Collin
Patrick Evans, Self-discipline Lead – Laptop Networking Program, Collin County Neighborhood School, says the reaction was once more than likely so large for the reason that Dallas space is a tech hub, housing a large number of acquainted tech companies, or even a large Cisco Buyer Revel in Middle at the identical street as one of the crucial Collin School campuses.
Beginning in with the apparatus in her storage, Debbie invited classmates to return over and collaborate, and, with the encouragement of Professor Evans, ultimately shaped the Laptop Science and Engineering Membership.
The membership gives a platform for mentorship and networking and is extra widespread than Debbie can have imagined. “I’ve by no means led a membership prior to, we began very small, it was once similar to 5 participants,” she says. With greater than 200 present participants, “we’re the most important membership at the moment within the IT middle—we continue to grow!”
Debbie makes the Networking Academy Dream Staff
If proceeding to appear after her circle of relatives, learning, operating the membership, and a few internships weren’t sufficient, Debbie was once additionally a part of the Dream Staff at Cisco Reside in Las Vegas in June 2023.
The Dream Staff is composed of 5 Networking Academy scholars who’re decided on from around the Americas, to paintings along Cisco engineers to lend a hand arrange and handle the community on the match.
“It was once superior to be informed from the community engineers,” she says. “I’m so happy that Professor Evans taught me the best way to patch cables…it got here in to hand, for the reason that different Dream Teamers had by no means completed that prior to. So I stopped up appearing them the best way to put an RG45 on a cable!”
“It was once superb,” she says. “It was once one of the crucial best possible occasions of my lifestyles. It was once assembly a large number of other people, assembly a large number of Cisco executives, finding out from them, serving to arrange the community…it was once very laborious, however it was once utterly price it.”
Certifications to protected the dream
As even though Debbie weren’t engaged sufficient, she has additionally finished the pre-apprenticeship segment of the Cisco CX Apprenticeship Program. She completed the specified CCNA certification and is recently self-studying for the DevNet certification. DevNet is a demand to finish all over the second one phase, which is six months full-time paid paintings as a Technical Consulting Engineer inside Cisco’s Buyer Revel in group. “My dream profession is to paintings for Cisco,” she says.
Within the intervening time, she’s making ready to take CCNP, her ultimate elegance at Collin School prior to commencement within the Spring of 2024.
If the sheer choice of actions Debbie has engaged in since returning to check turns out overwhelming, she dismisses it breezily: “I’m from Texas,” she says, “move large or move house!”
Discover extra inspiring achievement reviews at netacad.com/careers/success-stories.
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