What a Day!

So on the last day of school, everyone thinks that all we do is play Xbox and eat yummy food.

Peniel beating up on a little girl.
(Or is it the other way around?)

This could not be farther from the truth.  

We play Xbox.  Eat ourselves sick and earn ourselves Industry Certifications!

Congratulations to our last minute certifications:

Urie worked very hard to earn his Microsoft Technology Associate (MTA) certification in Networking Fundamentals.  I know he worked very hard studying for this and I am happy to see him earn it before summer began.  I look forward to seeing him in the Fall so we can complete the rest of the MTA's and also his A+

Birdie also worked very hard and passed the MTA Networking Fundamentals (98-366) and Windows OS Fundamentals (98-349).  Birdie also studied very hard and will be returning in the fall to complete her Security Fundamentals and A+ certifications.

Way to go Birdie!

Rene just started with us in January and also earned his MTA Networking Fundamentals (98-366) and Windows OS Fundamentals (98-349).  I look forward to seeing him in the Fall and am very proud of the effort he put in this year.

 Finally, we recognize Lu who tore himself away from his internship to spend the day with us.  While he was here, he passed the 98-366 (Networking Fundamentals) and 98-367 (Security Fundamentals).  We are all going to miss Lu as he just graduated.  His positive attitude and hard work has been an inspiration to us all.  I hope to see Lu in the future for continuing ed courses as he progresses in his successful career in IT.






(For those of you keeping score at home, that was seven (7) tests passed on the last day of school.  With a total of 32 for the year!  Woo Hoo!)


To all my students returning in the Fall:  Have a great summer!  For those attending Summer Session:  See you Monday!  We had a great year.  Keep up the good work.

Three generations of Gonzalez women celebrating the last day of school at iTech.

Have a Great Summer!

Graduation. 2013 Edition

Congratulations to my first official graduates!

Lu and Ricardo both completed their programs and walked for graduation ceremonies on May 31, 2013.  They both learned much this year, earned multiple industry certifications, and Lu even scored an internship at a prominent local employer.  Way to go!

I enjoyed having both of these young men in my class and am extremely proud of their accomplishments.  I look forward to graduating more students next year. 

Finishing Up the Year a Winner!

      Next Tuesday will be the last day of school.  In class we are busy busy busy trying to finish our Industry Certifications.  Today we recognized several students who have earned multiple certifications:



Richard and Ms. Amy


First is Richard.  Richard earned his Microsoft Technology Associate certifications in Windows Operating System Fundamentals and Security Fundamentals.  This is his third MTA.  He will be completing his A+ certification in about three weeks.

Manuel and Ms. Amy

Next Manuel came up front to be recognized

 for earning his Microsoft Technology Associate certifications in Windows Operating System Fundamentals and Security Fundamentals.  This is his third MTA as well.  We are very proud of the work Manuel has put in this year.

Birdie standing in for Jacob and Ms. Amy

Jacob earned his MTA in Networking Fundamentals recently.  He was not in class today so Birdie stood in for him for the photo op.

Ricardo will be graduating tonight!

 Ricardo completed his A+ certification and he passed the newly available PC Pro certification from TestOut.  The PC Pro is an exciting new option in certification.  Like the A+ it is vender neutral, and covers the same material.  While the A+ is a multiple choice test that verifies the canidates knowledge about hardware, operating systems and end-user support; the PC Pro certification demonstrates the ability to put those skills into practical application through simulation based testing.

Eva and Mia and ME!

Finally Eva was cheered on by her granddaughter in congratulations for passing the second portion of the A+ becoming my newest A+ certified student.  Eva passed the test so recently that her certificate was not yet available for download.  She did however receive her from to place in the window to show her acheivement.

Congratulations to everyone who earned a certification this year!

GO TEAM!

Greetings

It is always nice to hear back from former students.....  

From: XXX, XXXXXX
Sent: Wednesday, April 24, 2013 11:49 AM
To: McMullin, Amy
Subject: XXXXX Got A Job. Kinda.....

Hello Ms. Amy,

A Company Mug!

I just started my 3^rd day on the job. I’m really enjoying myself. I ended up getting my own cubicle, a personal phone line(xxx) xxx-xxxx, a company Windows Tablet(not mine’s), and a company e-mail address.  As far as work goes, the things I’ve done in the past few days have been interesting. I’ve re-imaged two client computers,  we have set the permission in Active Directory, given them their necessary programs automatically and we are taking care of the ones that haven’t loaded manually. Right now we are looking for the SQL server program because one computer is lacking it. Yesterday we had to set up a Docking Station for two clients. They had dual monitor capabilities. One had XP and one had Win 7. The one with 7 had issues with the peripherals and we switch out the adapters like 3 times only to find out it was a driver problem. Everything here is Dell so I thought,  “Piece of Cake” but it we could find a driver until we went to the NVIDIA Site. After restart everything went good.  ..... Out of all the company things I got my favorite the my "CompanyX" Coffee Mug. Look at the pictures(attachment). Went from Mug shots to a company Mug(Oh Yeah). Now That’s Progress.LOL

Sincerely,

XXXXXXX  XXXXXXX

TechMatch Notes

These are my notes from TechMatch 2013:

From employers:


Things we look for:
• Company culture - do you fit?
• Personality fit
• “Soft/People Skills”
• Work with multi-generational workforce
• Customer Service Skills
• Life Long Learning
• Prepping for jobs that do not exist yet
• Professional networking – Most hires are direct introductions
• Communication (Written, Verbal, relate technical info to non-techs, ie finance people)
• Reports/documentation
• Problem solving/logical thinking
• Idiots w/certs
• Love and passion
• Breadth and depth of knowledge – Theory not exact skill

Skills we look for:
• Virtualization
• Microsoft Certifications
• Security
• Practical application of skills

Things to do:
• Join organizations (SWFRTP, Toastmasters)
• Diversity who you hang with
• Dale Carnegie
• LinkedIn
• Ask if have tuition reimbursement, reimburse when join org, give back to the community
• Social media from business standpoint
• Research the company (“hire for engagement)
• Linux
• blog