SKYCTC Alumni Spotlight - Jacob and Kalei Crain

Jacob (2018) and Kalei (2021) are SKYCTC Computer and Information Technology graduates. Jacob then transferred to Murray State University and completed his bachelor's degree in 2021. They are both employed at Barren County Schools. Jacob is a Lead Technician, and Kalei is a Technology Specialist.

Why did you choose to attend SKYCTC?

J - Saves money, and I wanted to participate in the 2+2 program.

K - Convenience, price and family members that attended.

Who influenced you most during your time at SKYCTC (Faculty/Staff)?

J - Chris Royce or Art McFadden

K - Art McFadden

What advice do you have for current students wanting to make the most of their experience at SKYCTC? 

J - Go to class in person. I never realized how much of a difference it made to learning and understanding the material versus online learning. Talk with your advisors and professors. They have insight on your industry and are willing to help you grow those skills and get internships or job opportunities from connections in the industry.

K - Work hard in all your classes and take advantage of any opportunity to learn more.

Describe your career path and explain how your education at SKYCTC helped prepare  you for what you are doing today.

J - My intended career path was network administration or security analyst in the private sector, but I was hired to work as a technology specialist for Barren County Schools. From an education standpoint, my classes prepared me for the issues I would have working as a technician, especially the Cisco Networking. Barren County High School has a help desk program to prepare the students for real world IT positions, and this opportunity allows me to share my education experience with SKYCTC and help those students who want to pursue that after graduation.

K - I work in the technology office for a K-12 school. We work on everything from desktops/laptops, chromebooks, door access control, cameras, network equipment and more. I use knowledge learned at SKYCTC on a daily basis in my job, especially network.

What advice would you give current students interested in pursuing a career in your professional field?

J - Make yourself marketable through certifications. Get your hands dirty on different technologies to be a well-rounded technician. Break a couple of things and learn how to put it back together? that is how you learn. Get good at research. 85 percent of my day is research of issues, technologies, and products. Learn how to talk to people. As a technician, you have to make complex technical jargon into easy-to-understand plain talk. Teach those people as well. When the issues comes back, they will have the knowledge to fix it.

K - Technology is always changing and advancing and so should you.