At Waukesha County Technical College, more than 40 percent of students are nontraditional, meaning they are older than age 25. Their road to education may have been postponed or interrupted for any number of reasons, among them full-time work, caregiving responsibilities or a change in career. Soon-to-be IT-Network Specialist and IT-Cybersecurity Specialist graduate Bradley Wooten '24, is one of those students. Learn more about Wooten and the path that brought him to WCTC.
At 38, Bradley Wooten wanted an entirely new career – with a completely different skillset from the one he developed. After high school, he earned bachelor’s degrees at a local university (Philosophy, Journalism and Mass Communications), and later, a Paralegal diploma from another institution. He spent years in paralegal, customer service and restaurant management jobs but was always drawn to information technology.
"I spoke to a representative from the graduate school of my alma mater and discovered it did not offer coursework that taught the specific and specialized skills I wanted to know," he said. "WCTC does."
In 2022, Wooten started studying IT at WCTC, and it was a cybersecurity competition that sealed the deal. "My first experience with the National Cyber League as a competitor is what confirmed IT a passion and viable career."
Wooten immersed himself in activities, including leadership positions with the IT Club and Cybersecurity Team, membership on the WCTC IT Advisory Committee and in three honor societies (plus receiving a prestigious scholarship award) among others. Additionally, he began working at Husco in 2023 after connecting with the company at a WCTC IT Career Fair. His full-time position also filled the internship requirement for both the IT-Cybersecurity Specialist and IT-Network Specialist programs, which he will graduate from later this year. He is currently the U.S. IT client services specialist at Husco.
"If I can do night school, work 40-plus hours and be involved in extracurriculars, anyone can. If you have doubts, let an entire campus believe in you until you believe in yourself. That is a place of strength."
From WCTC Impact, Spring 2024