Intro

This is a little introduction of myself that looks back on my academic and work experiences. I will also be mentioning small portions of my life and whatever decisions I made that led me to where I am today. Looking back to everything that I went through, I am a firm believer that if I did not go through whatever challenges I have been through, I would not be where I am today. What I am hoping to get out of sharing a bit about myself is to have this narrative serve as a foundation and maybe even inspire others who are going through a period of figuring out what they want in life. As what McAdams said, “I don’t know what I am now, but I am no longer what I was” (McAdams, 2001). I believe that as long as we are alive, we never really reach our destination to where we are what we are meant to be because we are always changing. All of us want to be successful. Back at Tidewater Community College, I met another student that gave me advice on success, and it is something I still hold close to me: “Everyone reaches their goal at their own time. Whether you make it in your 20s or in your 40s, we all end up in the same place.”

Beginning of College

When I started college at Tidewater Community College, I had no plans of pursuing anything in IT. I started off pursuing a degree in radiology while also working in retail for a couple years. I pursued that degree for about a year. Though I did well academically, I realized a couple semesters down the road that it was not something I genuinely wanted to do. I felt like a lot of the decisions I made were to prove something to my family that I could be more than what I was. After that realization, I went through a brief period where I was taking some general ed classes and figuring out what I wanted to do in life.

Eventually, I chose to pursue an associate’s degree in Information Systems Technology. I did not really have a specific reason why I wanted to pursue IT, but I knew that jobs in IT often pay well, and they are always in high demand as technology continues to evolve. I did not really have a sense of direction on where with a degree in IT, but I knew that I could possibly land a much better job than where I was with that degree. At this time, I had numerous experiences working in retail while I was going to school. I was working while going to school full-time because I wanted to be able to be able to pay for my own education so that my parents could focus on whatever bills they had to take care of.
Once I was in my early 20s, I started working two jobs while attending school because money got tight. Thankfully, one of my jobs was working on campus in the computer lab at TCC and I was able to do schoolwork while I was at that job. As much as I wanted to study full-time so that I can get classes out of the way faster in time to graduate, I had to be a part-time student to make a bit more room for work. That lasted for a couple of years. I graduated from TCC in 2019 with an associate’s degree in Information Systems Technology and then attended Old Dominion University later that Fall.

Attending ODU

By the time I attended ODU, a lot of friends around my age already had their bachelor’s or master’s degree. At the time, I felt out of place that I was working low salary jobs while attending school while other people around my age already had the careers they wanted or were fortunate enough to have a full-time job. For a long time, I did not think I would ever be able to get a job within my field.

The start of the pandemic in 2020 was a difficult year because several jobs closed. I was able to receive unemployment checks for a few months, but then that stopped when places started to slowly open back up. Because I was not able to return to work due to some medical concerns, I took about a year off from ODU and even thought about dropping out. I did not think I would ever move up in life; I already had an associate’s and one of my previous jobs involved working with computers, yet it was still difficult to land a job in the IT field. Later that same year, I was able to get a job, then picked up a second job a month later so that I will be able to pay for my education when I eventually re-enroll and if in any case my parents needed financial help. My parents also dealt with some health issues around the pandemic, so neither were able to work for a while.

I re-enrolled in 2021 in the Fall to study part-time while working two part-time jobs. I was working as a barista and the computer lab at TCC had opened back up in the middle of Fall Semester, so I was back to working as a computer lab assistant. Before re-enrolling, I questioned if it was worth it; would I get a job in IT or cybersecurity after graduation, or would I still be stuck working two jobs after college just to make ends meet? I looked at what courses I had left to do, and I realized that there were less classes than I thought. I figured might as well just go through with it so that I can get my bachelor’s and then maybe figure things out rather than to drop out, then the past seven years of college would have been for nothing. I was close to graduating. I thought that even if I do want to do something else in life, having both my associate’s and bachelor’s degree would look good on my resume for future jobs. As exhausting as it was having two jobs was, I was still able to find room to effectively do schoolwork. At one of my jobs, I was qualified for health insurance after 3 months of working there, and I was grateful for that.

Present Time

Earlier this year, I met my roommate on Facebook and then applied for a one-year lease in an apartment with her while I was still working as a barista and computer lab assistant. Just a few days after my application was approved, a recruiter reached out to me via phone call about a full-time job position as an IT Desk Analyst. With how the first few calls with the recruiter and an informal interview with my manager, it seemed like it was guaranteed that I would get the job.

As tiring as juggling a full-time job while going to school and taking care of my own expenses and bills are, I feel grateful for where I am in life. My mom is strong in her faith, and she taught that things are rewarded or given to us, including challenges, because we are strong enough to go through them. Looking back on challenges I have encountered, all of them prepared me for what I have today: spending the past couple of years working two part-time jobs while attending school and having excellent academic performance has taught me to be more hard-working and resilient. I have only been at my current job for almost six months. After I got my Security+ certificate, I moved up quickly at work. Everything that I picked up from previous work and school experiences all influenced my work ethic.

Works Cited

McAdams, D. P. (2001). The Psychology of Life Stories. Retrieved October 15, 2022, from northwestern: https://www.sesp.northwestern.edu/docs/publications/430816076490a3ddfc3fe1.pdf

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