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 expertise in her communities. As Founding father of Networking Academy’s Girls Rock-IT Program, I take nice pleasure in sharing the influence of this program with individuals like Debbie and the onflow influence they’ve of their communities.

When “born and bred” Texan, Debbie Gomez, went from being a full-time mom of three youngsters to being a pupil at Collin County Group School, you might be forgiven for pondering it was a chance to decelerate a little bit.  

Apparently, that’s not in Debbie’s DNA—getting concerned and serving to individuals is. Whilst a faculty pupil, 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 selection 

IT was Debbie’s first selection, as a result of she had seen information tales concerning the demand for cybersecurity consultants. “I’m not searching for a job, I’m searching for a profession,” she says. “When I enrolled at Collin School I began as a cybersecurity main, however after taking some NetAcad courses I spotted that I’m actually keen on the blinking lights—the routers and the switches—a lot in order that I modified my major to laptop networking.” 

Assembly extra girls in IT 

“I attended Girls Rock-IT in my first semester, I met a whole lot of girls within the business, and one factor I actually beloved is that they get to journey and work. I need to have the ability to have that chance,” she says. 

One other large a part of the attraction to networking—and the Academy Program—was the hands-on expertise on supply.  

Cybersecurity at Collin 

“Cybersecurity at Collin is extra theoretical, and I used to be searching for extra technical,” she says. “When I used to be in a position to mess around with the switches, find out how to patch cables, all of that acquired my consideration…and there’s a whole lot of safety concerned in laptop networking as effectively, it’s nearly 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 develop the Bachelor’s program to incorporate laptop networking. She’s hoping the faculty makes the change, regardless that it could 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 whole lot of individuals had earlier expertise that she lacked. “Almost all people that begins in tech has some kind of background in expertise,” she says.  

“They’d most likely constructed a pc. I had not. I’d by no means opened a pc earlier than. So, making an attempt to maintain up with the tempo of the category, and desirous to spend extra time on the tools, I made a decision I would likeed 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 tools to donate. “I didn’t care if it worked or not, I simply wanted to interrupt it aside.”  

“I had an enormous response, there’s a whole lot of IT professionals who gave me switches, routers, wi-fi entry factors, a whole lot of stuff,” she says. 

Membership collaboration at Collin

Patrick Evans, Self-discipline Lead – Pc Networking Program, Collin County Group School, says the response was most likely so large as a result of the Dallas space is a tech hub, housing quite a few acquainted tech companies, and even a giant Cisco Buyer Expertise Heart on the identical street as one of many Collin School campuses. 

Beginning in with the tools in her storage, Debbie invited classmates to return over and collaborate, and, with the encouragement of Professor Evans, ultimately shaped the Pc Science and Engineering Membership.  

The membership presents a platform for mentorship and networking and is extra in style than Debbie might have imagined. “I’ve by no means led a membership earlier than, we began very small, it was similar to 5 members,” she says. With greater than 200 present members, “we’re the largest membership proper now within the IT heart—we continue to grow!” 

Debbie makes the Networking Academy Dream Group 

If persevering with to take care of her household, learning, operating the membership, and a few internships weren’t sufficient, Debbie was additionally a part of the Dream Group at Cisco Dwell in Las Vegas in June 2023.  

The Dream Group consists of 5 Networking Academy college students who’re chosen from throughout the Americas, to work alongside Cisco engineers to assist arrange and preserve 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 find out how to patch cables…it got here in helpful, as a result of the opposite Dream Teamers had by no means accomplished that earlier than. So I ended up displaying them find out how to put an RG45 on a cable!” 

“It was wonderful,” she says. “It was the most effective occasions of my life. It was assembly lots of people, assembly a whole lot of Cisco executives, studying from them, serving to arrange the community…it was very exhausting, nevertheless it was completely price it.” 

Certifications to safe the dream 

As if Debbie weren’t engaged sufficient, she has additionally accomplished the pre-apprenticeship section of the Cisco CX Apprenticeship Program.  She achieved the required CCNA certification and is at the moment 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 check appears overwhelming, she dismisses it breezily: “I’m from Texas,” she says, “go large or go residence!” 

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Discover extra inspiring success tales at netacad.com/careers/success-stories.

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