47-year-old woman outshines men for top score
NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Ten Synergy Bahamas students, who recently completed a 12-week Information Technology career training course, achieved a significant certification milestone by passing the globally-recognized CompTIA Information Technology Fundamentals Plus exam.
This industry-leading credential is considered the best starting point for students interested in pursuing a career in information technology and communications (ITC), and offers the foundational knowledge and skills needed to pursue other more specialized areas of ITC.
Topping the class with the highest score was 47-year-old Deborah Williams.
After losing her job in sales due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Williams pressed the “reset button” to pursue a career in information technology — a 20-year-old dream.
“It’s never too late to accomplish your dream. It’s never too late to further your education,” she said.
“At first, I was kind of reluctant because I thought: ‘Man, I’m so old. I haven’t been in school for over 30 years. Can I still do this?’
“But I encouraged myself and I had the support of others. If it’s something you want to do, at least, try.”
Trying was just Williams’ first step; she is determined to obtain every IT certification available until she is certified in cybersecurity, which is her new career path.
For recent high school graduates Tarajh Hudson and Nikeve Miller, the pandemic made gaining employment and enrolling in college difficult. But rather than be derailed, they used their love for computers to further enhance their résumés.
Hudson said: “It made me shift my focus in what I really like about computers. It made me re-think in what I may major in in college.
“Maybe major in the Computer Science field or something related to software or hardware engineering field.”
Javon Pinder, who holds a Bachelor’s degree in Management Information Systems, pursued the certification to propel is his career. He plans to become certified with the CompTIA A+ and the CompTIA Network+.
For young entrepreneur Deno Cooper, becoming certified allowed him to pursue his true passion of becoming a video game developer. Recognizing that it is an uncommon field for Bahamians, Cooper said it is all the more intriguing.
“Eventually, I’d like to start my own IT company, but I’m looking into (IT) for the hardware side of it, so I could be able to pursue my true career goal which is to be a game developer,” he said.
“But I need to know how to maximize the performance and sustainability of systems so that I would be able to produce better and more interactive games that could hold a good clientele.”
Although there are unsurmountable amounts of information to retain to pass the certification course, according to Cooper, Synergy offers the support, learning environment and experience to get students through it.
Synergy Bahamas’ Spring 2021 semester starts this month, offering IT online courses in CompTIA Security+, CompTIA Network+ and CompTIA ITF+, along with courses in media design, culinary arts and business.
