Meet our Get into IT Students of the Month: December 2021

Our Get Into IT Program allows us the opportunity to profile up-and-coming tech talent! This month we are celebrating Genc Haxhiu and Alicia Chapman as our students of the month, so if you’re potentially looking for a new hire, keep reading to learn a little more about them. Our first student of the month Alicia Chapman has been working in various settings within the retail industry for over 15 years now and is currently as an assistant department manager. In 2014 she graduated cosmetology school with flying colors, and after doing freelance work for a while she ultimately realized it wasn't something that she wanted to make a long-term career out of.

I really enjoy the people in the Get into IT Program. I've had some great conversations with classmates as well as some of the staff and mentors. I appreciate the resources that are available to us, and the ability to work on things on our own schedule. I've been working backshift for over a year due to the pandemic, and travel can be difficult for me so this opportunity has been a huge blessing. - Alicia Chapman, Get into IT, IT Support program student

Many of her fondest childhood memories involve computers whether it be gaming, teaching herself bits of HTML to spruce up her Neopets pages & create Piczo sites, learning some basics in photoshop, organizing her music library, discussing hobbies in forums, and more. She said she has always found computers fascinating and is inspired by the growth of the tech sector, which motivated her to join the Get into IT Program. Alicia's favorite part of the course so far has been hardware, being able to learn about how all the parts of a computer communicate with each other and work in harmony. "It's like putting a puzzle together!" She says. After completing the program her dream job would be in web development/design. "I'm an artistic being at heart, so I'd love to have a career where I can incorporate my creativity, attention to detail, and organizational skills." When she's not working, Alicia can be found creating art, critiquing horror films, gaming, getting lost in fantasy novels, collecting butterflies, and spoiling her children (who she says are actually cats). Connect with Alicia Chapman via email! With a bachelor's degree in Computer Sciences from the University of Prishtina, our second student of the month Genc Haxhiu lives in Halifax with twelve years of experience working in Information Technology for different organizations, both public and private. His interest in the cybersecurity program was sparked by his passion to work in an exciting and challenging field. In particular, his favourite course so far has been Network Security & Database Vulnerabilities, which helped him better understand how to secure networks for organizations and the various types of security breaches.

I liked the pace studying and having the option to get help from the instructors when needed. As the tech sector continues to grow in Nova Scotia, programs like Get Into IT provide an excellent opportunity for Nova Scotians to gain the IT skills that are in demand. - Genc Haxhiu, Get into IT, Cybersecurity Student

When asked what his dream job would be, Genc said he wanted to lead a team that makes a change with the use of cutting-edge technologies. Overall, he says he is thankful for the Get into IT team and their professional attitude and having the opportunity to connect with other students and ask questions during the Zoom classes. Connect with Genc Haxhiu on LinkedIn or via email!