Alumni Spotlight – June 2023

June 2023 Spotlight: Jazlin Jimenez – Candelaria

Jazlin Jimenez – Candelaria, ISPA Class of 2016, Florida International University Class of 2020

Degree: Degree in Information Technology

Career Goals: I am currently working on getting my Project Management Certification to become an IT Project Manager.

What has been the biggest surprise about the college experience? College environment itself is a completely different environment than that of high school; There is a lot of independencies to it. I enjoyed being able to select what time I wanted my classes to be at and which days. The independency teaches you a lot of responsibility that allows you to grow into a more organized and responsible adult.

Most challenging coursework in college? My most challenging coursework was all my programming languages courses. Although I did enjoy learning different languages and the history behind them, my challenge was the programming projects and needing to have a program ready to be executed and working.

Accomplishment most proud of? My biggest accomplishment is that right after graduating FIU with my bachelor’s degree in I.T, I began working in the I.T department at General Electric. I am currently working as a Project Manager for two different programs for the Service Desk at GE and I’m working towards getting my Project Management Certification to further my career in this.

Can you provide any advice for current ISPA students? My one advice would be to make sure you love what you will be majoring in before you get your degree. The way you can do this is by getting an internship. As a Senior at ISPA, I was given the chance to apply to an internship shadowing an IT Manager at UM. Question yourself “Do I see myself working in this career path?” This will help you figure out where you want to go in life and set certain goals. Also, don’t be afraid to reach out to those who are in a position you want to be at in a future. Ask them, how they got there and what you need to do to get there.

Can you tell us how ISPA prepared you for success in college and in life? Like previously mentioned, one of the things that helped me was having the opportunity in my senior year to leave half a day and go to my internship. This gave me a glimpse of a day in a life at an I.T job. ISPA also gives you the opportunity to take AP classes which helped me obtain some college credit. Because ISPA is a language school, you learn to dominate a second language. Adding this to your resume helps you a lot when looking for a job.

I paid for college with…Thankfully, I was able to get the American Dream Scholarship which paid for all my classes to get my A.A. I later earned the Connect4Success scholarship when transferring to FIU that helped pay the first semester there. And the rest was lovingly paid by my parents.

Fondest memory from High School? When I look back at High School, I always think back to Senior year. From senior bowling to senior breakfast and even the senior pranks, these were the fondest memories. Although bittersweet, we all took in every minute of it before leaving to college.