Rebooting his future with the information technology program

Matthias De Gisi is proof that you can pursue a university degree and find a career in the growing field of information technology – even if you didn’t finish high school.

Due to health reasons, Matthias never graduated and often felt as though the education ship had already sailed for him. Through his job at a computer repair store in Smithers, BC, he found the inspiration he needed to get his high school diploma and apply to the Information Technology and Applied Systems (ITAS) – System Administration and Networking Diploma program at VIU. 

Not only did Matthias graduate from a university program this June, he also earned the VIU Governor General’s Academic Bronze Medal, which is awarded to the graduating student with the highest academic standing in a two-year diploma program. 

“Completing this program means that I proved myself wrong, and that I was able to overcome not only a difficult program but my own self-doubt about being capable of returning to school,” he says.

Matthias shares how the ITAS program has put him on a path to a career that aligns with his interests and skills and what winning the award means to him. 

Why did you choose VIU for your education? 

As a teenager, I used to work at a computer repair store in Smithers, where I grew up. My coworker and mentor, who was a few years older than me, left to take the ITAS program at VIU. After his first year, he came back to work at the store for the summer and told me what he was learning and doing and believed I would really enjoy the program. Everything he told me sounded interesting and cool, so I decided to investigate further, and I realized that this was something I really wanted to do. That same summer, I enrolled in upgrading courses at my local community college to finish up my dogwood. In the fall, I got conditionally accepted into ITAS providing I could finish my dogwood by the end of that school year.

Tell us a bit about your experience in your program.

Taking the program was probably the best decision of my life. The people I met became some of my closest friends over the last two years, and coming out of the ITAS program straight into the workforce I feel like the knowledge I gained has put me in an incredibly good place. I always felt like the instructors were extremely committed to setting us up for success by making the schoolwork relevant to the IT industry and pushing us not to take shortcuts in our work. They also provided good advice before my interview for my current position.

How did your professors impact your educational journey?

In my learning experience, several professors left a lasting impact. During my database class, I struggled with the intricacies of database normalization. The concepts seemed abstract and difficult to grasp, but my instructor Michelle tirelessly answered my questions and ensured I received the clarity I needed. I can only imagine how taxing it must have been to explain these concepts to a beginner, but her unwavering commitment and genuine desire to help me learn motivated me to persevere and put in the necessary effort.

Graham, my cybersecurity instructor, provided an opportunity to showcase Wi-Fi hacking techniques at a project fair. This hands-on experience ignited my passion for the subject and prompted me to explore the inner workings of the tools I was using. I really enjoyed the opportunity to dive deeper into something I was passionate about, with the added motivation of having something to show for it.

In the Windows Server class, my instructor Brandon assigned a project to script user account creation from an Excel spreadsheet, a task that proved directly applicable in the real world and I have already used the script in my current job.

What is your ultimate career goal?

Currently I am working in a support/helpdesk role for the IT department at Reliable Controls in Victoria, which I see as a laddering step to my career goal. I would love to work as a system administrator or a network administrator and develop my expertise in a field of information technology such as networking, Linux or Windows Servers. The first step for me though, is to figure out what exactly I want to specialize in.

What is one piece of advice you want to pass on to current VIU students? 

Take a minute to take it all in. It’s easy to get lost in the schoolwork and everything that is going on, but this is an experience that you might only have once. As I look back on my two years fondly, I feel like I didn’t quite realize how much I enjoyed it until it was over.