Cohort Stories: Meet Christopher C.
vol. 4, no. 13 — guest post by Christopher Colbert
I first became interested in IT during my senior year in high school. Throughout my high school career, I was unsure what to do for college and where I wanted to go with my life outside of gaming and music. My mother would often say that I had a proficiency for technology since I was often playing online games.
One day, while I was in one of my high school classes, I among other classmates were called down to meet with a college success coach by the name of Beth Sullivan. Her job was to help kids to transition to Bunker Hill Community College and assist them throughout the entire process. I then decided to follow IT as a major, since it was something that I could do at the time.
I quickly realized that doing it just to do it would not be enough, as there was a lot to learn up front. In a way though, I enjoyed it for its difficulty. After some deliberation and deep thinking, I decided to get into the technology field as a Network Engineer in order to gain access to gaming companies such as Bungie, PlayStation, or Naughty Dog.
I believe this was the best path for me because gaming has always been a big passion of mine and this would be my way of giving back to an industry that has helped me meet so many different people while having fun. Gaming helped me to professionally cultivate a skill that can be used in any technological environment, allowing me to always have in-demand professional skills.
To get to where I am, I had to overcome serious obstacles like homelessness, abuse, and ADHD. I was born in Atlanta Georgia and when I was a very young kid, experienced challenges with my family that led to time with an amazing foster family. Fast forward 5 years later, my family is reunited and living with our mom in Massachusetts. Recently, I started to notice my ADHD affecting me in school and life and finally decided to do something about it. With the right management, I have been able to set myself up for a thriving career. 10 years later I’m now 20 years old, following my dream in tech and music with many goals for the future. Through Hack.Diversity, I hope to gain the technical skills and knowledge to gain a strong footing in the industry as well a network that can guide me in the right direction.
