When Leo Guerrero, a junior at Shadow Ridge High School in Las Vegas, Nevada, first moved to Clark County School District, technology was neither his main hobby nor an academic interest. Starting as a sophomore at Shadow Ridge, though, a new world opened up for him.
“I would say it was fate,” Guerrero said. “I was looking through the courses that were available because I had just moved to this place, and I saw cybersecurity. I said, ‘hey, that sounds interesting.’ So I joined and the rest is history.”
Guerrero has been making a bit of history at the school himself. At the age of 16, he has already earned four CompTIA certifications. His achievements are setting the stage for the future, as he demonstrates how far students can go in the school’s Career and Technical Education (CTE) cybersecurity pathway. He arrived at Shadow Ridge at the perfect time—when cybersecurity teacher Lloyd Mann and the school district were working to establish a program that would give any student curious about technology a chance at a big post-graduation advantage.
Setting the Stage at Shadow Ridge
About eight years ago, Shadow Ridge High School teacher Lloyd Mann, then teaching chemistry, was approached by students expressing an interest in computer courses. In 2014, Shadow Ridge High School offered its first course, and students flocked to it.
“Late in that year I got called into my principal’s office,” Mann said. “He told me that we had 200 students sign up.”
Mann suddenly found himself teaching six sessions of programming. The next year, he added a cybersecurity course, and got the students involved in open Cyberpatriot cybersecurity competitions as well. The kids were hooked. The classes kept growing.
As Mann was getting students excited about computer science, IT and cybersecurity at Shadow Ridge, the school district was working on an initiative to give students a chance to earn an endorsement of their tech skills that would last long beyond graduation. In the cybersecurity course’s second year, there was a new opportunity on the table for students—CompTIA certification.
A Chance at Professional Certification for Every Student
Snehal Bhakta, CTE administrator at Clark County School District, was a computer programmer back when computing was a niche pursuit undertaken in front of a monochrome screen. Today, he sees students working with, playing on and walking around with computing technology more powerful than anyone in those days could have imagined. Learning to properly manage and secure such indispensable technology sets students up for successful, lucrative careers in the IT and cybersecurity industries, and any other number of opportunities. Especially if they have the right credentials.
In each of the district’s CTE tracks, students are given the opportunity to earn credentials that will verify their skills in a given real-world industry after graduation. When Bhakta and his team were looking for highly-regarded, industry-recognized tech certifications, one name jumped out.
“CompTIA’s industry-based credentials really fit our needs for students starting out in those types of careers,” Bhakta said. “CompTIA has wonderful foundational certifications … so we aligned many of our IT programs to a number of their certifications.”
Of the 50 schools in Clark County School District, there are currently 22 which offer a chance to take CompTIA exams as part of their IT/cybersecurity coursework. Bhakta sees district students testing in the thousands and sees myriad advantages not just to earning the certifications in high school—but even studying for and taking the exams.
“You want to encourage the students to take these exams because students may not know what an industry-recognized credential is,” Bhakta said. “They probably have never even heard of CompTIA, but to let them know, let them understand, get them familiar with it and really encourage them … [Teachers can then say] ‘we’re going to spend a whole year studying this topic and I want you to take this CompTIA exam, because it’s going to show to anyone out there that you really mean business. You really know the stuff and have the skills to be successful.’”
The CompTIA Tipping Point
As the opportunity to test for CompTIA A+ and CompTIA Network+ became a component of Shadow Ridge’s cybersecurity courses, class sizes grew. Students were enthusiastic about the topic, less so, early on, about the certifications. Many were simply intimidated by professional-level material and industry-level exams. Soon, though, things picked up.
In 2019, Mann had a handful of high-performing students who began challenging themselves and each other to take the exams. Two years ago, one of these students passed a few. Word spread among the student body: Earning CompTIA certifications was possible. Then Guerrero arrived. Hearing stories of previous successes he sought to meet, and beat, the record.
As a sophomore and over the following summer, Guerrero earned three of CompTIA’s most important certifications for validating foundational cybersecurity career readiness: CompTIA A+, CompTIA Network+ and CompTIA Security+. Junior year, he earned the more advanced CompTIA Cybersecurity Analyst (CySA+).
“Leo has opened up the floodgates by getting all these certs,” Mann said. “He’s churning them out every two months. He has a couple more he’s thinking about doing and seeing Leo, at 16, doing these certifications has emboldened a lot of my students to say ‘hey, I can do this.’”
Meanwhile, Mann honed his teaching strategy to build on the buzz. Last October, a student asked about CompTIA IT Fundamentals (ITF+) certification. Mann got a few vouchers for the exam. A few other, curious students tested, and about five earned the certification.
“It was kind of like the steppingstone to them saying, ‘well maybe if I study, that A+ won’t be as bad,’” Mann said.
Of those CompTIA ITF+ certification holders, one has already gone on to earn CompTIA A+ with another well-prepared and on the way to testing. Younger students, seeing the success of the older ones, are now looking at CompTIA A+, and a few juniors and seniors are preparing to take CompTIA Network+.
Shadow Ridge has reached a tipping point with CompTIA certifications. Students are excited and up for the challenge. Mann and Shadow Ridge are finding new ways to make certifications work for students. And Guerrero is still there, with more than a year to go, to inspire.
Promising Futures With CompTIA
Guerrero is thinking about the future—not just his own, but the future of humankind. Outside of his classwork, he reads up on brain-computer interfaces and extended reality; currently bleeding-edge, theoretical concepts which may someday reshape our world. But he is still in high school and has plenty of time to figure out exactly what he wants to do. CompTIA certifications let him think big—and think practically.
“I probably want to start my own business and really aim high with that,” Guerrero said. “If that doesn’t work, I’ll always have something to fall back on. That’s where these certs come in. I can get a high-paying job if the solo way doesn’t work out. I can join a company and help them out with stuff.”
In fact he has already been contacted about potential internship options from local business leaders thanks to his CompTIA certifications. With the credentials on his resume, age is no hindrance.
“Teenagers don’t get the credit for what they know,” Mann said. “Having that certification validates the knowledge that they do possess.”
And as more young people follow Guerrero’s lead, the whole community, and beyond, stands to benefit.
“It helps everyone,” Bhakta said. “It helps them solve challenges, solve problems—the more young people we can get involved in technology, the better our world, our society, is going to be.”
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Matthew Stern is a freelance writer who covers information technology, retail and various other topics and industries.
