Graduate Profiles

“Working on cars is an art form -- you take what you know and mold it to your own vision.”

Steve still remembers the summer day his older brother brought home a 1969 lime green Dodge Challenger.  He watched with amazement as his brother and father transformed it into an American muscle car.  Steve was hooked.

Encouraged by a fellow car lover and WyoTech graduate, Steve began attending WyoTech Sacramento.  He enjoyed the hands-on training and realized he had made the right decision while working on his favorite project — building a rolling chassis for a Ford Model T.  The project involved welding and grinding, and allowed Steve to be in control of every aspect of the work.  

Today, Steve is a mechanic and fixes everything from brakes to transmissions.  His dream is to eventually own and operate his own body shop, handling any mechanical problem that comes his way.

“Going back to school has paid off in more ways than one. Because of the example I set, my children now take their own school work more seriously.”

Lee Winslett enrolled in a community college and quickly realized that attending classes while working full time and raising two children was nearly impossible.  She needed a flexible schedule that would allow her take classes at her own pace, even if it meant studying at midnight after the kids had gone to bed.  FMU Online was the perfect solution.

Lee began her career with the Polk County School Board as a para education teacher and now serves as a routing specialist.  Encouraged by four pay raises and several promotions, Lee decided to continue her education and is currently pursuing a bachelor's degree in business administration at FMU Online.  Her goal is to become a member of the school board's management team.

“Everest really helped me turn my life around. The Medical Assisting program gave me the confidence to become a registered nurse.”

After making a wrong turn in her car, Nathaly found herself parked in front of Everest's City of Industry campus.  On a whim, she decided to stop in and find out more about the school and its programs.  Impressed by what she heard and eager to begin a career in the medical field, Nathaly enrolled in the Medical Assisting (MA) program that day. 

Nathaly had always been interested in the medical field, although she was uneasy about the idea of giving injections and learning complicated medical terms.  Nathaly credits the school's instructors with helping her overcome her fears and making the course material easy to understand.

After graduation, Nathaly joined a physician's office as an MA.  The skills and confidence she gained in that role allowed her to enroll in a registered nursing program at a nearby community college. 

“CDI pointed me in the right direction and opened doors that allowed me to find my dream job. Without CDI I don't know where I would be.”

After graduating from high school, Beau attended a traditional four-year university.  He earned a bachelor's of science degree in biology, but soon recognized that it wasn't the right field for him.  The world of high technology and computers beckoned.

Beau's brother, a CDI graduate, urged him to tour a campus and speak with the school's faculty.  He did so, and while there he noticed the small class sizes and personalized attention that instructors provided students.  Beau enrolled in the internet and network security program, and found his teachers to be knowledgeable and responsive.  In less than a year, he earned his diploma and found his dream job in IT with Schenker. 

Beau is working to be the team leader of the technical infrastructure team and hopes to be a role model for new IT analysts.