Keep Your Eyes on the Road: Interview with Alex F. | Cloud Engineering Student
Tune into our pilot podcast episode of “Keep Your Eyes on the Road,” where we bring you inspiring stories of students who are breaking barriers and achieving success in the tech industry. As a non-profit organization dedicated to helping struggling-yet-striving students achieve their dreams of graduating, we are honored to have Alex on our show.
Alex is a student at Bossier Parish Community College, who is passionate about information technology and is determined to make a difference in the world of cloud engineering. Despite facing numerous challenges, including financial struggles, Alex has persevered and is now on the cusp of graduating with a degree in tech.
So sit back, relax, and join us for an enlightening conversation with Alex!
Ms. Andrea: Hi Family! Welcome to Keep Your Eyes on the Road, a podcast powered by Last Mile Education Fund. I'm your host, Ms. Andrea, and today we are speaking with Alex, a cloud engineering student at Bossier Parish Community College. We'll learn all about her as a person and how she overcame some major obstacles while pursuing her tech degree.
Ms. Andrea: Hi Alex! Thank you for speaking with me today. Please tell the audience a little bit about yourself and your upbringing.
Alex F.: My name is Alex Farina. I grew up in Falls Church, Virginia, and lived there for most of my life until high school. Currently, I live in Keithville, Louisiana, and have lived here for about eight years, for like five years or so.
I had a pretty normal upbringing, nothing too crazy, until I got a little bit older, around 16 or 17, and my dad took a new job working out of town for the most part. So, my sister and I were at home with my mom full-time. When I was a senior, my mom got really sick, and she ended up passing away when I was 19. I ended up taking care of my sister throughout my senior year of high school, and when I was 18 or so and still in Virginia. I went to the University of Delaware for the first semester, but right as I finished, my mom passed away.
So, I came back home and dropped out of college. My mom's death really unraveled my family. She held us together, and we were lost without her. My dad went through a lot of emotional turmoil and wasn't in a position to care for my sister or maintain our household.
As a result, my sister ended up moving to Louisiana to live with my maternal grandmother, who helped her get into school and everything. She was only a junior. My sister and I were super close, so I decided to move to Louisiana as well in 2012. My sister actually passed away in 2014, but I stayed in Louisiana and had my daughter in 2016. She was born in Shreveport, Louisiana.
I ended up staying in Louisiana and going back to school, kind of out of necessity, but also because I wanted to. That's where I'm at now.
Ms. Andrea: Your past hasn't been all roses and rainbows and some would even call it a struggle. How do you, or how did you, how do you continue to stay motivated to reach for more when some people that hit a struggle seem to just accept their lot in life, so to say...What keeps you motivated?
Alex F.: Well, I think part of it is just the way I am, by nature. I like a challenge and I'm definitely not one to shy away from a struggle. I tend to do things the hard way first, or do it my way and figure it out the hard way. That's just how I've always been.
Once I had my daughter, I was pretty young, and I feel like I lacked maturity in some ways. If it hadn't been for her, I probably would have given up or gone down a different road. But because I had her, she really motivated me to keep going. Her dad wasn't involved in our lives after she was born, so it was just her and me.
I was faced with either poverty and not being able to feed my child or going back to school and making a good life for us. I couldn't afford to wait tables anymore, which is what I had been doing. Going back to school wasn't an option at that point, it was a necessity. I knew that I had to do it for my daughter and for myself. I had to keep going, it just wasn't an option not to.
Ms. Andrea: Understandable, for many of us, our family is our number one motivation, so I can definitely relate to that. You mentioned being the type of person that likes a challenge, would you say that's what led you into the world of tech?
Alex F.: Yeah, I think so. Tech really appealed to me for a couple of different reasons. One, it was a challenge because I'm not one of those people who, when you think of somebody who's really into tech or a computer science major, you might think of somebody who's been doing it their whole lives, or somebody who grew up taking apart computers and messing with stuff, or somebody who's been coding their whole lives or what have you. But that was not me. I pretty much knew how to use a computer, but I wasn’t really super into it or had really thought about it. I never really thought about the inner workings of computers and networking and how that stuff all worked until I got a little bit older.
I think it appealed to me because it was a challenge, and a lot of people said that I couldn't do it, or that I wasn't that type of person, they just didn't think I could make it. So that was a challenge in and of itself. I wanted to prove them wrong, and I wanted to prove myself wrong too because I always thought, you know, wow, people who are into computers, they must be so smart and everything. And so it was kind of like, I wanna be like that, sort of thing. And I wanted to prove to myself that I could figure it out, even this late in life, you know, being an adult learner and whatnot, trying to learn all that stuff when you have no experience with it was definitely a challenge.
And then also, it appealed to me as a lifelong learner. I've always been really inquisitive and curious. And so, like tech, you know, it's always changing, and so there's always something new to learn. And just when you think that you've learned it all, like there's some new product that comes out that you have to learn how to use or whatever.
So I think it presents a challenge for the rest of my life. Like as long as I'm in the tech field, I'll be challenging myself and learning new things, and so I think I gravitated towards tech because of that. Additionally, you know, I have ADHD, and I get bored super easily, and it's almost like a challenge to find something that holds my interests long enough for me to get experienced with it and learn a lot about it.
And I really have trouble focusing on stuff that I'm not interested in or that I feel is not going to be useful to me. So with tech, you know, that's not a non-issue. I am interested in it, and I'm always going to be interested in it, and there's always something new to learn. So I think all those things kind of played into me getting into the tech field.
Ms. Andrea: You mentioned having ADHD, which is classified as neurodivergent, would you say that yourself or others that are neurodivergent kind of have a superpower when it comes to the world of tech?
Alex F.: I definitely think so. Yeah. Obviously, it presents its own unique challenges that others may not face, and I've definitely dealt with a lot of those, especially returning to school after such a long break. Learning study skills and time management, among other things, after being out of school for 10 years was definitely a challenge.
However, I do think that having ADHD can give you a superpower in a way. We have the ability to hyperfocus on things, so if I don't understand something, am struggling with something, or have a deadline to meet, I'm going to focus on it. I won't stop until I figure it out or come up with a solution.
A lot of times, I feel like I come up with solutions that others might miss due to my neurodivergent thinking. We think differently than others and tend to think outside the box, so it can definitely be a strength.
Ms. Andrea: Awesome. I hope the people that are tuning in connect with what you're saying because I believe after going through the pandemic and just other things in life, we all are somewhere on the neurodivergent spectrum. And I hope that they hear you and hear your story and find hope in knowing that, “Hey!, I can do it too!” So we've been throwing around the word tech, and it's kind of big broad ominous. What is your specific field? What do you study and what do you do?
Alex F.: Well, I'm majoring in systems administration and cloud computing. So cloud computing is also a very broad term. I don't know if you want me to get into what cloud computing is or what I'm trying to do in that field.
Ms. Andrea: Yes, yes, please.
Alex F.: Okay. So "cloud" in and of itself is a very vague and abstract kind of term, but really what it means is basically a network of virtual servers that store data or whatever it is that an entity or business would need to access quickly and spontaneously from anywhere in the world whenever they want to access it.
So it could be operating systems or apps that are in development or data, among other things. What I'm doing is called cloud computing, but it's essentially cloud engineering. Cloud engineering refers to basically the planning, development, deployment, maintenance, and security of a business or entity's cloud infrastructure.
It also includes determining if any of a business's on-prem or bare metal infrastructure should be migrated to the cloud because the cloud can't and shouldn't be used to solve every single problem that a business might have. It's great for some things, but not for others.
So that's what cloud engineering is. It really has to do with all those things, basically, like how to maintain and plan out a business's cloud strategy, if that makes sense.
Ms. Andrea: That is so amazing. I know I work for Last Mile, which helps students graduate with degrees in tech. But I myself, I'm a graphic designer, so the way you broke down cloud engineering I am genuinely in awe. That's so fascinating.
Alex F.: Thank you. I'm glad I could explain it. Well, gosh, thank you. That makes me feel good.
[AD] Ms. Andrea: Sorry for the interruption, but did you know the US is facing a huge cybersecurity workforce shortage? But don't worry. Last Mile has partnered with Microsoft to change that with the Microsoft Cybersecurity Scholarship Program. You can get up to $500 in financial assistance and up to $375 to cover certification exam costs. Please note this fund is only available to community college students. Learn more and apply at the link in our show notes. Back to Alex!
Ms. Andrea: So with cloud engineering, how does that relate to cybersecurity? Because you were one the awardees of the Microsoft Cybersecurity Program. So how does that relate in the world of cybersecurity?
Alex F.: So I have a short-term degree in network security from my community college. I took six or eight classes that were directly related to network security. So network security is what I'm really into.
It was kind of my first love when it came to tech. I didn't get into the cloud part until later on, but network security and cybersecurity in general really influence every single facet of it. And that includes the cloud. You really can't have cloud infrastructure without taking cybersecurity into consideration.
Because even when you're in the cloud, data from businesses or entities still needs protection from all cybersecurity threats that could affect bare metal servers or any network-facing systems. Cloud security, just related to the cloud, is its own field, and it's a really lucrative one that is a big part of any cloud engineer's day-to-day work.
So cybersecurity relates to cloud engineering in many of the same ways as it relates to any other tech field. Being in the cloud also presents unique challenges that are specific to the cloud when it comes to cybersecurity.
Ms. Andrea: Thank you for that clarification. Now that you are one of our grantees, one of our family members now, how did you find out about Last Mile?
Alex F.: I actually came across Last Mile through my community college. We used to have a specific advisor just for the tech majors at my school, and she was the best. She went above and beyond, and one of the things she did was send out email blasts whenever a scholarship opportunity came up that was relevant to tech.
She sent everyone in tech at my school an email about Last Mile, and I happened to open it. I didn't think I was going to be selected, but on a whim, I filled out the application. Surprisingly and happily, I received an email that I had been selected for a scholarship. That's how I came across Last Mile.
Ms. Andrea: Awesome, awesome shoutouts to her. So you mentioned doing the application. How would you describe the application process?
Alex F.: It was so easy. That's actually part of the reason why I ended up filling it out, because I clicked on the link and looked at the application and it was just like a Google Form, and it was super easy to fill out.
There were a couple of more in-depth questions where I actually wrote way too much, probably a couple of paragraphs in response, but it was super easy. I filled out my basic information and then answered the more in-depth questions.
I think I copied and pasted from a Word document, so I didn't lose my progress. It took me maybe 45 minutes in total, including proofreading. It was a very easy process. When I submitted it, I wasn't expecting to hear back as quickly as I did, but I heard back within a week.
After that, it was maybe no more than five days before the money hit my PayPal account. It was a super quick process, unheard of in terms of scholarship speeds like this. I've never dealt with one that was so quick and easy to deal with as this one. Definitely an easy process and well worth it.
Ms. Andrea: I'm glad you mentioned the quick turnaround and how easy it all was because oftentimes when we mention our funding opportunities to students they tend to think it’s a set up or it's a scam. And we're like, “No! We just have money that we want to give to you all!” You know what I mean?
Alex F.: Yes, I'm not gonna lie, I definitely had some doubts at first. I did some serious Reddit searches to make sure that it wasn't a scam. But after getting Reddit approval, I went through with it. I definitely had my suspicions because it was just so easy, almost too easy.
Ms. Andrea: Awesome. Awesome. So how have you utilized the funds?
Alex F.: So actually, I received two different scholarships from Last Mile. The first one was the Microsoft Cybersecurity Scholarship, which I distinctly remember using to pay my overdue Xfinity bill because I was taking online classes. I also used some of the funds to buy a new laptop since the one I had at that point was almost 10 years old, and it had a 500-gigabyte magnetic spinning hard disk and 8 gigs of RAM. I upgraded to a newer model that I found on eBay for a good deal and added a 512-gigabyte SSD and an extra 8 gigs of RAM, which was a big improvement. Since I was taking online classes, having a functional and efficient laptop was crucial, and I wouldn't have been able to afford it without the scholarship from Last Mile.
The second scholarship helped me pay for my stolen phone's deductible, and I used the remaining funds to pay for gas while commuting three days a week back and forth to school, which was a 45-minute drive from my home. I drove a Suburban, so gas was a significant chunk of my income. Additionally, my car experienced some wear and tear, so I made some repairs to it with that money too. But it, it went to good use and I definitely would not have been able to attend or pass my classes without that money.
Ms. Andrea: I love to hear the stories of all our grantees. And how our funding helps you all overcome obstacles. So is there anything you would like to leave our audience with students, faculty, any words of encouragement or inspiration that you would like to leave them with?
Alex F.: First of all, if I can do it, anybody can do it. Literally anyone. And also, just know that, especially with Last Mile, they really encourage you to do your research and see what kind of help is out there. Even if you think that you're facing an obstacle that's insurmountable, there are programs and people who want to help, and they are in place to assist you. When it comes to finishing school or achieving more in your career, there's definitely help available, and it's always going to be worth it.
Ms. Andrea: Thank you for opening up to us today, Alex, and sharing your story with us. Greatly appreciated, and I will talk to you soon.
Alex F.: Thank you so much for having me. Thank you.
Ms. Andrea: Thanks for tuning into Keep Your Eyes on the Road, a podcast powered by the Last Mile Education Fund. We hope you enjoyed our conversation with Alex and learned something new today. And if you're a college student facing financial struggles, be sure to check out our website for resources and assistance.
Ms. Andrea: We'll be back with more episodes featuring inspiring stories and practical advice to help you on your journey to success. Make sure to follow us on social at @LastMileFund and share this episode with your friends. In the meantime, keep your eyes on the road and stay focused on your goals. Thanks for listening!
SHOW NOTES
Learn more about the Microsoft Cybersecurity Scholarship Program. Explore additional examples of successful Microsoft grantees and the profound influence of this program on the cybersecurity landscape.
Host: Ms. Andrea [Andrea Thomas]
Guest: Alex Farina
Recording, Editing & Mixing: Andrea Thomas
Music: Epidemic Sound