Six Months to a New Career and a Better Paying Job How one student changed his life

	Carlos Fraga "on the job" at Chase Securities.

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.

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).