![\"gerard-russell-btvi\"](\"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/gerard-russell-btvi.jpg\")
Gerrard Russell is determined to not be average. His pledge from the first semester at The Bahamas Technical and Vocational Institution (BTVI) was to remain committed and dream big.<\/p>\nGerrard Russell is determined to not be average. His pledge from the first semester at The Bahamas Technical and Vocational Institution (BTVI) was to remain committed and dream big.<\/p>\n
\u201cBTVI has given me my ability to dream again. After high school, I quit dreaming, but at BTVI, I started dreaming about possibilities,\u201d said Gerrard.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe instructors are really knowledgeable, personable and they actually care. It\u2019s a community, and as it grows, the students are growing with it,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n
The Information Technology Management and Security Plus major is among the 250-plus BTVI students slated to graduate on the 5th July at Bahamas Faith Ministries International.<\/p>\n
The road for Gerrard has not been without its challenges. He knows what it is to drive from his Chippingham home to BTVI on Old Trail Road on a near empty gas tank. He knows what it is to accept a sponsored suit to attend a regional conference because he did not own a suit. And as he did not have a full scholarship, he knows what it is to struggle to pay school fees.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, Gerrard did not focus on what he did not have, but what opportunities were in front of him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI came to BTVI on faith. My mom used to pay all my fees, but one brother now attends BTVI and the other one is enrolled in home school, so it resulted in less money to assist me. I still had to come up with $600-$700 per semester, so I fixed computers on the side,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The 26-year-old refused to allow such obstacles to deter him; he used them as fuel to propel him. It is a far cry from what his outlook once was. He admitted that while a student of C. C. Sweeting High School, he threw opportunities away.<\/p>\n
\u201cI began skipping classes, but at BTVI, I actually wanted to come to classes. There was this draw (towards BTVI). Here, they focused on my talent. It drove me to the point I fell in love with school. At BTVI, it\u2019s not the old desk and book system. It\u2019s more of an exploration of learning. Besides, after six years in the work world, I needed more than a boss screaming at me,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n
With his eyes on entrepreneurship and a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.7, Gerrard\u2019s career goal is to become a Security Auditor.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to sell security protection. I would hack the system by showing the vulnerabilities of it in an effort to improve upon the overall security,\u201d he proposed.<\/p>\n
Additionally, because of BTVI, Gerrard has been afforded opportunities he otherwise may have never received. Earlier this year, he participated in the first Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) hackathon.<\/p>\n
In 2014 he was one of two local technical education students sponsored by the Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (URCA) to represent The Bahamas at the Regional Youth ICT Innovations Training Workshop in Antigua and Barbuda.<\/p>\n
Also in 2014, Gerrard was an exchange student at Fanshawe College in Canada. He said the Emerging Leaders in Americas Program scholarship was eye opening.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never dreamt I would come to BTVI and go to college for two semesters. I thought I would come through the system, learn some computer repair and graduate,\u201d admitted the institution\u2019s 2016 student speaker.<\/p>\n
\u201cFanshawe really opened my mind. It was so progressive and I learned there are so many more components to IT. I remember the first day of class, a professor gave us a sheet of paper and we had to figure out CISCO switches and routers,\u201d he exclaimed.<\/p>\n
Gerrard said because of the exposure, he no longer has a myopic view of the world.
\n\u201cI now know there is a whole world out there. It is hard to perceive it while here. TV doesn\u2019t do it justice,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI cannot go back to the way I use to live. I learned to cook, manage my finances and time, I became independent. I had a Brazilian, Mexican and Indian roommate. I learned about their cultures and how they perceive the world – whether liberal or conservative. I miss them,\u201d he confessed.<\/p>\n
Although it has taken Gerrard four years to complete his Associate of Applied Science degree, it is the journey as opposed to the destination that has made him realize the possibilities that exist.<\/p>\n
\u201cBTVI gave me much more than a degree. It gave me a hope and a future. Thank you BTVI for giving me a life,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>\n
By Hadassah Hall
\nThe Bahamas Technical and Vocational Institution (BTVI)<\/p>\n
Caption: Gerrard Russell
\nInformation Technology Management and Security Plus major
\nProspective 2016 graduate<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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