In Chris’ experience, college just didn’t work for him. “I’d been an on-again-off-again community college student for a really long time,” he said. “I went to school because that’s what you have to do, and it just never really kind of stuck with me. You start working, life happens, you decide to take less classes, maybe the college isn’t offering the courses that you need, and then you’re not a student any more. For me, that’s just what happened multiple times.”
He was doing all right without a college degree, building a life for himself in Sacramento and working as a retail director.
Then the economy shifted, and he was laid off.
“It’s a hard moment to have,” he said. “It’s very common to get laid off and be at a juncture and need some inspiration. That’s something we don’t talk about enough, you know?”
Even if there was another retail director job available, Chris didn’t want to go back into retail. He wanted to do something he cared about more. He needed a change.
Chris wondered if he should try going back to school again. Would it work this time?
Then he learned about Calbright on Reddit.
“Folks there said, ‘Hey, if you live in California, this is a really cool program to learn the materials and work towards your certification.’ And I challenged myself, ‘Can I commit to this? Can I do this? It’s asynchronous, it’s a little bit different.’”
He decided to take a chance on himself and enroll in the IT Support program.
At first, he was a little overwhelmed.
“I cracked open the book and started looking at the material, and it seemed like a lot,” he admitted. “But because it’s self-paced, you really could do as much or as little of it as you wanted to in a given day or week or month.”
Being able to take the time he needed, without penalty, without stress, made a difference. And it wasn’t just that Calbright was different, he was different too. Going to college because it mattered to his own goals rather than just something he was “supposed to do,” kept him going.
And at Calbright, there was a community of people just like him.
“I found that the more that I engaged with the community on our virtual campus through Slack, sitting in on study groups and workshops, the more it motivated me to not only get through my program, but to participate as well,” he said.
“I can study alone on my computer, no problem, but I can get distracted really easily. But if I know there’s a study group at 7 p.m. or 10 p.m. for the section I’m working on, I can hold myself accountable to that and I can bring my questions and I can come prepared and I can walk away, you know, much more equipped for what I have on my to-do list. Having that community to study with be right there, we really challenged ourselves to keep going and complete the classes. It gave me momentum.”
At that point, instead of using the flexible timeline Calbright gives its students to go slow, he decided to use it to go fast. “I had a lot of wind in my sails and I was feeling really, really good and really proud of myself. I finished the first part of the course in just two months!”
He knew he’d made the right choice then, when went to take the CompTIA A+ certification exam, which Calbright paid for. “I took the exam in person, and I felt so good! I was like ‘I’m going to pass this test, this is what I’m supposed to be doing, and I’m ready to move on!’”
It wasn’t just his education: His life changed. Working with Calbright’s career support team to update his resume, his new certification in hand, he applied for a job as an IT Assistant at the Foundation for California Community Colleges, whose headquarters is just down the block from his house.
“I applied, and got the interview, and they noted all the things that I’ve done at Calbright, and they offered me the role – my first IT role – and now I’m officially a career changer,” he said.
It’s not just that he has a new career, it’s that his new career is with an organization he really believes in.
“I think the Foundation for California Community Colleges is such a cool organization. We do really cool work around our state. I’m very proud of, you know, what I’ve done and this is another beginning,“ Chris said. “It’s very rewarding.”
He’s also exploring mentoring and tutoring as a paid intern in Calbright’s ExLL program, helping Calbright IT students who need the kind of support and encouragement he did when he was going through the program.
“As an alumni to say: ‘Hey, I did this program, I know this material, let me tell you about some of the tools and tips and tricks that I used to get through my program,’ I know how valuable that is. I discovered I really liked it,” Chris said.
He’s also continuing his studies at Calbright: having completed the IT Support program, he’s re-enrolled in Calbright’s Network Technology program, taking his technology skills to the next level and continuing to invest in himself.
“I’m really excited about all these opportunities, I like everything I’m doing now, and I want to make sure that as I continue on this journey that I sing the praises of Calbright and tell people: ‘Man, if I can do it, anybody can do it.’” Chris said. “I was down and beat, and now I feel turned around. I got laid off, but I’ve got a new job and I’m still in it to win it.”
