David Dawson, Senior Network Engineer, teaches a class on Hacking at Carlos Rosario International Public Charter School. Community IT Innovators staff give back to the community by sharing their expertise with local nonprofits. For over seven years, Community IT Innovators staff have served on the IT Advisory Committee at Carlos Rosario International Public Charter School, a school which provides education and training to the immigrant community. The school has a Computer Support Specialist (CSS) training program which helps adults get training in technology skills. David Dawson, Senior Network Engineer, has taught classes on DNS, virtualization and cloud technologies. Dawson explained that he enjoys teaching classes to this group of highly motivated students.

The students in the CSS program move to DC from Ethiopia, El Salvador, China and other countries. In some cases they have advanced degrees in their own countries which are often not recognized in the U.S. They decide to pursue a career in technology skills to help them get good jobs. Carlos Rosario’s IT Instructor Eddy Ceballos said, “The students love the presentations from CITI professionals, since they bring current real world experiences, that enrich their learning process.”

Carlos Rosario’s CSS program has a long waiting list of interested applicants. Students who are accepted to the program receive a lot of support and have strong incentive to do well in the classes and get their certifications.

In February 2012, seven CITI staff will be doing presentations for the CSS program. Carlos Rosario’s Career Specialist Ismael Cid Martinez explained “Carlos Rosario International is grateful for the support extended by Community IT Innovators’ staff. Their workshops and presentations equip our students with the tools they need to find and maintain an entry-level job in the IT industry. Carlos Rosario IT students leave our training program more informed and better able to respond to the demands of the field thanks to CITI.”