Hello Joe and Jeff [Moraine Park IT Instructors],
I hope this email finds you well. I have been meaning to reach out
to you sooner but my life is as busy as ever. But, better late than never. I
want to start by saying, “Thank You”. Thank you for giving me a
wonderful learning experience at Moraine Park. I truly did enjoy the lectures,
labs, and even the occasional debates that would eventually get the whole class
off topic. I also appreciated all the effort you all put into having us
students apply our knowledge, skills, and critical thinking through programs
like the Computer Clinic, Tech Tyme, and the IT Club. The latter two
proved instrumental in helping me develop a sense of leadership, organization,
and pride in motivating myself and my peers to go above and beyond to help out
the local community by applying what we learned in class. In mentioning
that, I hope the Club is going stronger than ever and that more and more
students find the real value of the experiential learning that it offers
them.
But all in all, it was a challenging three years that have paid
off for me and my family. Prior to enrolling in school, I was giving up in
attempting to fulfill my dream of college education before even trying and I
was just about ready to succumb myself to working a dead-end job that would
lead me nowhere but to complacency. Thankfully, I had a wonderful group of
family and friends that encouraged me to finally believe that I could achieve
my dream as I did. That moment at graduation was a milestone achievement in my
life that my family and I will never forget.
It didn’t just end there. Last May, there was an opening in
the IT department at Masters Gallery Foods. I felt excited, nervous, and
stressed about applying for the position and not knowing what kind of candidate
they were after. However, I was also confident that all the hard work and
sacrifices I put in those three years at MPTC would make me a worthy candidate
whether I got the job or not. Needless to say, I aced the interview. I was
asked questions about networking, such as defining DHCP and DNS, as well as to
what troubleshooting approach would I take when dealing with malfunctioning
hardware and software. Also, they were very impressed with the volunteer work I
did as well as the internship at JF Ahern. I left the interview not know what
would happen next. Two days later as I was driving home from class, I get a
call from HR saying that the IT Director and Network Manager had selected me as
their primary candidate and that if I chose to accept, I would be joining
their Networking Team as a Technical Support Specialist. I couldn’t
contain my excitement and relief, I had to pull over to the side of the
road as my hands started to tremble and I couldn’t drive straight
anymore.
Almost a year later and I find myself working with coworkers who
are just as passionate about working in IT as I am. I feel good going to work
every day and feeling proud of what I did to earn it. I look back at all that
lead me to this job and I don’t regret one thing. I just wanted to share this
story with you so that you realize how impactful your work is in shaping
students and their lives. Keep up the good work and I hope to see you soon.
P.S. I am currently in the process of enrolling at Lakeland
University to pursue a Bachelor’s Degree in their Management of Information
Systems program.
Best wishes,
Jose R. Bustos
Moraine Park Class of 2018- Information Technology
On April 24, 2018, Fond du Lac Boys and Girls Club kids in grades 5-11 were excited to meet and learn with Moraine Park Corrections students!
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