Program Details

Luis is a first-generation immigrant from Guatemala and currently resides in Chicago Lawn. He has his Associate Degree in Art from Harold Washington College. Luis has customer service experience in the restaurant industry but knew it was not something he wanted to do long-term. His goal is to be in the IT field to learn more about computer systems, functionality/maintenance and to improve his computer skills. Luis started the IT Career Lab with National Able on April 4th, 2022, and completed the program on August 5th, 2022. The program helped Luis gain the necessary skills and knowledge to apply for jobs in the IT field and be successful. He learned about routers, switches, and how the internet functions in the Cisco CCNA course. He also learned how to program, work on troubleshooting, how the internet is structured, and how to protect users from attacks.

Shortly after completing the IT Career Lab, Luis took his CCNA exam and earned his certification; as he works his way up, he plans to gain more credentials. Luis also completed a 10-week paid work experience with Youth Job Center. During his internship, he learned to work with different systems (Salesforce, Microsoft, Excel, etc.) and assisted the team with data management. Most recently, Luis was accepted into Discovery Partner Institute for a software development program set to begin in June 2023. Luis has been working on preparing for this next chapter in his life and is excited about his success in the IT field!