[music playing] I'm Jerome Mick, and I'm a teacher.

I teach information technology at the Clearfield County Career & Technology Center.

My information technology program focuses around the CompTIA A+ certification in cybersecurity.

To become a career and technology education educator, you first have to work in the industry.

And I had the privilege of going to South Hills School of Business & Technology, where I obtained my degree in computer information systems, and I was hired even before I graduated.

I had to rush through my internship, and I worked at a company in State College, Pennsylvania.

It was a great place to work.

Unfortunately, during the recession of '08, I was laid off from there and it led me to here.

I was hired as a computer technician here at the school.

I was in their tech department for about four to five years.

I never thought I would be a teacher.

I always thought I was just comfortable being the tech and the network guy.

And boy, was I wrong.

I really found my calling in the classroom.

Okay, so I have a question up here.

I started out this class, I had six students.

And the following year, I had a waiting list for kids trying to get into the program.

Every kid has a story, and that is one of the cool things about my job.

I'm blessed with having a different range of students.

I have some students that need a little extra assistance with learning, and so I have some students that are in some learning support classrooms at their sending school.

But I also have some kids that are in some gifted classes as well.

And knowing how to differentiate the way they learn is different.

So you've got to give them a variety of ways of teaching.

And those kids, you have to find that piece to help them be successful.

There we go.

I'm very humbled and surprised that two or three years ago, I was selected as part of the board of education's Special Populations Teacher of the Year.

It's going to take a lot for me to want to leave the classroom.

So CT education, you have to have four years of industry experience.

Once you have that work experience, then you apply for different permits through the Department of Education.

You have to be hired by a school, and they have to approve you, and then you go back to learn how to be a teacher.

Troubleshoot, troubleshoot-- the biggest thing we do.

Pennsylvania Department of Ed-- they have assigned three universities that handle career and technical education, and that is, Indiana University of Pennsylvania takes care of the west side.

The centralized region is Penn State University, and the eastern is Temple.

And they all help us.

They teach us how to teach.

And it's an 8 to 10 year process, however long it takes you.

It's quite the experience going from industry, especially if you've been out for a while from school.

All these universities are wonderful in helping you become that person in the classroom.

And my goal by the time I retire-- I would love to have these walls filled with every student's name with a certification on my wall.

You got to celebrate these kids.

They work too hard.

And some of them, that certificate can be life changing.

[music playing]