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Speaker: OTAN-- Outreach and Technical Assistance Network.

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Nicholas Marks: COVID, unfortunately, was difficult for a lot of people. But it really offered me the opportunity to really restart my career. I went to college in Santa Barbara. I got a computer science degree where I studied programming languages, operating systems, computer security, a number of different topics. And I worked for a startup.

Then I moved on from there to Los Angeles, back to my family's home. And as an unemployed person, I had a grant to go for certifications. The scenario I was trying to navigate is, what am I interested in? How can I use all the skills that I've acquired? I never actually took a networking class in college. And so my background in math and computer science, I understood the concepts once they were explained to me. But I never had a formal education in networking.

The Adult School in Venice has a very unique opportunity. They have a Cisco Networking Academy. And the instructor is very skilled in CCNA, which is Cisco Certified Network Associate.

Elizabeth Penuela: So he took some of our courses here in 2019, which included networking, CyberOps, and Security Plus courses, with one of our excellent teachers, Mr. Robert Jorgenson.

Nicholas Marks: It's very flexible with somebody who is either unemployed or working and wants to go to night school. And they have plenty of hardware that you're able to work with. Through EDD, there was an opportunity to apply for scholarship grants. And they will help pay for training and certifications. It's very difficult for someone in my position to pay for an exam that costs $300. And you may miss it by one question, and week after week, retake and repay for that structure.

Elizabeth Penuela: In 2019-2020, he took the silver in SkillsUSA, which is a huge competition that is not only regionally, but it goes to state, and then to national to select the best competitors and the most knowledgeable students.

Nicholas Marks: So the field that I competed in was the internet working category. This one specifically was focused on customer service, technical support, and networking aptitude. After competing for three or four days straight, 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM, I was able to place in second place. And it was a really great experience. It was very rewarding. And it really validated the effort I put in.

Elizabeth Penuela: And now we went back this last year, and he took the gold in nationals. So that was a big celebration for our school. And we showcase him all over the place, his trophies and his medals.

Nicholas Marks: After taking the competition, I feel very confident that I can pass these exams and, with enough study and enough practice, anything is possible.

Elizabeth Penuela: I really noticed Nick just being a great mentor to others and really sharing without even-- and building foundations for other people to empower them to thrive in school.

Nicholas Marks: My end goal is to push for as many of these certifications that I'm enrolled in as possible, complete these exams, and in the next five years, try to put myself in a position to essentially be a CISO, a Chief Information Security Officer.

Elizabeth Penuela: I just know he's going to make history in all his future endeavors. I think he's going to be an asset to all the companies he works for.

Nicholas Marks: It's my goal to both participate with my company and participate in the community with giving my best advice over all the experiences that I have. And anything I can do to help support the community and progress our own security supports us all.

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