Second class of NFA P-Tech students earn degrees

By KATELYN CORDERO
Posted 6/5/19

This year the second class of NFA P-Tech students will walk across the stage at their high school graduation and the stage at Orange County Community College to collect their High School diploma and …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

Second class of NFA P-Tech students earn degrees

Posted

This year the second class of NFA P-Tech students will walk across the stage at their high school graduation and the stage at Orange County Community College to collect their High School diploma and associate’s degree.

The program housed at NFA North has more than 200 students working towards their high school and associates degree. The program had 12 students receive their associate’s degree many before receiving their High School Diploma.

The students graduating this year completed the program in either five or six years: Cindy Vaquero, Danis Jhammat, Graciela Bautista, Liliana Cardosa, Vincent Lecertosa, Cherokee Morning, Eliana DeLeon, Isabel Laracuente, Joshua Lopez, Juan Pepi, Martin Peticco, and Matthew Stridiron will graduate with degrees in cybersecurity or networking.

The program created by IBM in 2011 gives students the skills and resources to get careers and internships at IBM while in college. Many of the students graduating from the program have paid internships or employment coming out of High School.

“The statistics tell us that the system is not set up for students to be successful,” said Kevin Rotham, Principal of P-Tech. “There is a reason that certain populations are underrepresented in the IT field. These students start their education earlier, and we have the support built in through our partnerships. In order to do this the students run on a different schedule, many give up their summer to participate in activities and take classes, so they are here when their High School friends are enjoying spring break or their summers.”

The program has students who are the first in their family to graduate from college or from High School, to them the hard work and the struggles of the program was worth it in the end to get their diplomas.

Danis Jhammat is the first person of his family to get a college degree, the pressure to succeed gave him the push he needed to succeed.

“The hard work and the time was all worth it because my family is relying on me to keep pushing forward and keep on because they don’t want me to be in the same spot that they are in. They want me to be in a better level than they are in,” said Jhammat. “It’s an honor because not many people have that chance and my family not being able to graduate with a college degree and watching me they are living through me in this experience.”
The P-Tech program brings in about 50 students every year, they give opportunities to students with circumstances that may make it harder to graduate or earn a degree. They also have a 50 percent gender ratio with boys and girls, to increase a female presence in the IT field.

“There are other opportunities at NFA but we do feel the support the students get here, the partnership, the access to completing a college degree, and the access to a paid internship really sets them up for the future,” said Kevin Rotham, P-Tech Principal. “We think our focus and the professional skills learned from very early on will benefit the students no matter what they aspire to do.”

This summer the program will have 88 paid interns over the course of three years with 46 percent of their original class earning their associate degree. Within two years the program has seen 29 students graduate with both degrees.

The program highlights the need for high schools and colleges to work together to make sure that students are given the proper skills they need to move on to college and into a career path.