Debbie goes from being a full-time mother to a dynamo in networking

In Latin Hispanic Heritage Month, we rejoice all of our college students and alums from these communities who’ve joined ours, by means 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 Girls Rock-IT Program, I take nice pleasure in sharing the impression of this program with individuals like Debbie and the onflow impression they’ve of their communities.

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

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 possibly can be forgiven for pondering it was a possibility to decelerate just a little.  

Apparently, that’s not in Debbie’s DNA—getting concerned and serving to individuals is. At the same time as a college pupil, Debbie spent summers in Mexico studying Spanish from the native youngsters and instructing 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 in search of a job, I’m in search of a profession,” she says. “Once I enrolled at Collin School I began as a cybersecurity main, however after taking some NetAcad courses 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 Girls Rock-IT in my first semester, I met loads of ladies within the trade, 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 huge 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 in search of extra technical,” she says. “Once I was in a position to mess around with the switches, patch cables, all of that acquired my consideration…and there’s loads of safety concerned in laptop networking as nicely, 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 Laptop 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, despite the fact that it could occur after she’s already accomplished her research. “It could 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 loads of contributors had earlier expertise that she lacked. “Virtually everyone that begins in tech has some kind of background in know-how,” she says.  

“They’d in all probability 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 loads of IT professionals who gave me switches, routers, wi-fi entry factors, loads of stuff,” she says.

Membership collaboration at Collin

Patrick Evans, Self-discipline Lead – Laptop Networking Program, Collin County Group School, says the response was in all probability so huge 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 Middle on the identical highway as one of many Collin School campuses. 

Beginning in with the gear in her storage, Debbie invited classmates to come back over and collaborate, and, with the encouragement of Professor Evans, ultimately fashioned the Laptop Science and Engineering Membership.  

The membership provides a platform for mentorship and networking and is extra well-liked 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 heart—we continue to grow!” 

Debbie makes the Networking Academy Dream Staff 

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 Staff at Cisco Dwell 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 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 patch cables…it got here in useful, as a result of the opposite Dream Teamers had by no means carried out that earlier than. So I ended up exhibiting them put an RG45 on a cable!” 

“It was wonderful,” she says. “It was the most effective instances of my life. It was assembly lots of people, assembly loads of Cisco executives, studying from them, serving to arrange the community…it was very exhausting, however it was completely value 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 presently self-studying for the DevNet certification. DevNet is a requirement to finish in the course of 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 getting ready to take CCNP, her closing 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 huge or go residence!” 

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

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