How one student
changed his life
The United States government provided 24 FIPSE (Fund for Improvement
of Post-Secondary Education) grants for colleges serving students
in U.S. Empowerment Zones in 1999. The Borough of Manhattan
Community College (BMCC) was awarded two of these grants, totaling
more than $300K. With these funds, BMCC established its Cisco
Networking Academy Program in January 2000, for under-served
adults in the New York area. After a strict screening process,
20 students were selected to enroll in the program. In addition
to networking skills, the program teaches students social etiquette
skills, dressing and grooming skills, resume writing and interview
techniques-all of which will be extremely important as these
students prepare to enter the workforce. The program also maintains
a strict attendance policy requiring all students to attend
class from 9:00 am - 5:00 pm each day.
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Of the 20 students selected, only 17 students finished the
program on July 11, 2000. Twenty-seven year old Carlos J.
Fraga, married and a father of two children, is one of these
students and shares his story with us.
Carlos and his family live in an Empowerment Zone just outside
New York. After high school, Carlos served in the U.S. Navy
for two years as a Hospital Corpsman (medic), then with the
N.Y. Army National Guard, where he's still active. Carlos
began taking classes at a community college, but needed a
full-time job to support his family. Although Carlos was able
to find a job, he lacked the necessary skills to secure a
networking job, a field in which he had a lot of interest.
Carlos saw a flier for the new Cisco Networking Academy Program
at his local community college and decided to apply. The Borough
of Manhattan Community College, established in 1963, is located
in Manhattan, New York and offers a curriculum targeted to
meeting the needs of businesses in mid-town Manhattan.
Before enrolling in the Networking Academy program, Carlos
had no computer skills, but knew he wanted to do something
with computers. The program taught Carlos how to design, build,
and maintain communication networks of enterprise companies.
During his studies, Carlos interned at Salomon Smith Barney,
while his wife went to work to support the family.
On July 11, 2000, Carlos graduated from BMCC with his Cisco
Certified Network Associate (CCNA) certification and had four
immediate job offers. The day after graduation, Carlos started
work as a Network Administrator for Chase Securities with
a starting salary of $56,000 per year, plus an annual bonus.
Carlos' new job meant his wife could leave her job and pursue
her goal of attaining her B.S. degree in Social Psychology.
Carlos plans to continue working full-time, while continuing
his education part-time, at the New York Institute of Technology,
beginning this Fall. His goal is to attain his B.S. degree
in Computer Science and become a Cisco Certified Internetwork
Expert (CCIE).
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