CISCO Veteran Program Helps Former Paratrooper Jump into an Unexpected IT Career
Raleigh Graduate Taps into Fighting Spirit to Survive and Advance
On paper, there was nothing to suggest that Beau Dorman was destined to become a computer engineer. “I spent five years in the Army as a paratrooper in the infantry,” he says. “I jumped out of airplanes and hunted-down bad guys in both Iraq and Afghanistan.”
After being medically retired, Beau moved from Fort Bragg to nearby Raleigh, North Carolina. Uncertain about his future, he saw a commercial for ECPI University. After visiting the campus, he decided he would do something that would challenge him in a way he had never even considered before.
“I was a grunt in the army, worked outside, and lifted heavy things,” he says. “I had never been to college and had no background in IT. In fact, I didn’t know anything about the Research Triangle Park and the big tech companies here in Raleigh until I came to ECPI. I learned that Cisco, Red Hat, and Lenovo were in the area, and I figured I was in school for the right thing, and that there’d be job opportunities.”
While Beau did lack a technical background, he did bring something very important with him to the classroom. “The Army gave me discipline and soft skills like communication, collaboration, and leadership. When things get tough, you don’t make excuses…you just keep pushing and keep studying.” This proved to be a winning strategy.
Beau immediately joined the Student Leadership Club, the campus’ chapter of Student Veterans of America (SVA), and was later inducted into the Honor Society. Then came an opportunity that would change his life. Through the SVA, Beau learned about the Cisco Veteran Talent Incubation Program. He quickly applied and was accepted.
“It was a pretty grueling process the whole way through – to get into the program, and to make it through,” says Beau. I had to submit an application and resume to be considered. Then, I had to submit a video about myself to a committee. That led to the in-person part – an eight hour day with three rounds of interviews. I later got the call I was hoping for, saying that I was accepted into the program. Once I was in the program, it was six months of self-study and job shadowing with technical milestones along the way, like getting certifications, and passing Cisco’s internal technical assessment. I did all of that and was done four months before the deadline.
“We started out with about sixty students and ended with about twenty; I was the second person to finish. About that time, I also passed my CCENT (Cisco Certified Entry Network Technician) and CCNA Routing and Switching (Cisco Certified Network Associate) professional certifications, both on the first try. My ECPI classes covered 99 percent of what was on the exam, but I did have to do some studying on my own, of course. All along, I was still attending school full-time, so I had a lot on my plate, but I made it work. Once I finished the program, Cisco offered me a full-time job as a Network Consulting Engineer. I still have to finish a few classes to get my degree, but I will take those through ECPI University Online.”
Former paratrooper Beau Dorman can hardly believe how his world has changed. He says making the transition to civilian life is often difficult for veterans and hopes more of them will take advantage of Cisco’s program. “I started college nearly 15 years after I graduated from high school. I’ve come a long way from zero credits with no technical background to where I am now. Believe me, if I can do it, anyone can do it!”
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