In Hispanic Heritage Month, we rejoice all of our Hispanic scholars and alums of Cisco Networking Academy’s IT skills-to-jobs program. Debbie Gomez is one super-inspired particular person who’s sharing her hobby for generation in her communities. As Founding father of Networking Academy’s Girls Rock-IT Program, I take nice excitement in sharing the have an effect on of this program with folks like Debbie and the onflow have an effect on they’ve of their communities.

“I’m now not in search of a role, I’m in search of a profession.”

When “born and bred” Texan, Debbie Gomez, went from being a full-time mom of 3 kids to being a pupil at Collin County Neighborhood Faculty, it’s essential to be forgiven for considering it was once a possibility to decelerate slightly.  

It appears, that’s now not in Debbie’s DNA—becoming concerned and serving to folks is. At the same time as a faculty pupil, Debbie spent summers in Mexico studying Spanish from the native kids and instructing them English in go back. It shouldn’t be a wonder 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 noticed information experiences in regards to the call for for cybersecurity mavens. “I’m now not in search of a role, I’m in search of a profession,” she says. “Once I enrolled at Collin Faculty I began as a cybersecurity main, 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 main to pc networking.” 

Assembly extra ladies in IT 

“I attended Girls Rock-IT in my first semester, I met a large number of ladies within the trade, and something I in point of fact beloved is they get to go back and forth and paintings. I would like in an effort to have that chance,” she says. 

Any other large a part of the appeal to networking—and the Academy Program—was once the hands-on enjoy 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 ready to mess around with the switches, methods to patch cables, all of that were given my consideration…and there’s a large number of safety interested by pc networking as smartly, it’s virtually just like the gatekeeper, in order that’s what I in point of fact loved.” 

Debbie says she’s now not on my own in switching from the four-year Cybersecurity Bachelor’s Level route at Collin to the two-year Pc Networking Affiliate’s Level, and has even petitioned the varsity to increase the Bachelor’s program to incorporate pc networking. She’s hoping the varsity makes the alternate, despite the fact that it could occur after she’s already finished her research. “It will be my legacy,” she says. 

It wouldn’t be her best legacy at Collin. 

Networking with neighbors  

When Debbie first began IT Necessities, she learned a large number of members had earlier enjoy that she lacked. “Virtually 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 sooner than. So, seeking to stay alongside of the tempo of the category, and short 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 community app asking whether or not any individual had any apparatus to donate. “I didn’t care if it labored or now not, I simply had to wreck it aside.”  

“I had an enormous reaction, there’s a large number of IT pros who gave me switches, routers, wi-fi get admission to issues, a large number of stuff,” she says.

Membership collaboration at Collin

Patrick Evans, Self-discipline Lead – Pc Networking Program, Collin County Neighborhood Faculty, says the reaction was once more than likely so large since the Dallas space is a tech hub, housing a large number of acquainted tech companies, or even a large Cisco Buyer Enjoy Middle at the similar street as one of the vital Collin Faculty campuses. 

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

The membership provides a platform for mentorship and networking and is extra common than Debbie can have imagined. “I’ve by no means led a membership sooner than, we began very small, it was once similar to 5 participants,” she says. With greater than 200 present participants, “we’re the largest membership at this time within the IT heart—we continue to grow!” 

Debbie makes the Networking Academy Dream Staff 

If proceeding to seem 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 Are living 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 assist arrange and care for the community on the match.  

“It was once superior to be told from the community engineers,” she says. “I’m so satisfied that Professor Evans taught me methods to patch cables…it got here in to hand, since the different Dream Teamers had by no means performed that sooner than. So I stopped up appearing them methods to put an RG45 on a cable!” 

“It was once superb,” she says. “It was once one of the vital best possible instances of my lifestyles. It was once assembly a large number of folks, assembly a large number of Cisco executives, studying from them, serving to arrange the community…it was once very hard, but it surely was once completely price it.” 

Certifications to protected the dream 

As even though Debbie weren’t engaged sufficient, she has additionally finished the pre-apprenticeship section of the Cisco CX Apprenticeship Program.  She accomplished the specified CCNA certification and is recently self-studying for the DevNet certification. DevNet is a demand to finish all through the second one phase, which is six months full-time paid paintings as a Technical Consulting Engineer inside Cisco’s Buyer Enjoy group. “My dream profession is to paintings for Cisco,” she says.  

Within the interim, she’s making ready to take CCNP, her ultimate magnificence at Collin Faculty sooner than commencement within the Spring of 2024.  

If the sheer collection of actions Debbie has engaged in since returning to review turns out overwhelming, she dismisses it breezily: “I’m from Texas,” she says, “move large or move house!” 

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

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