BAT student strives to do more
Student of the Week: Freddy Lozano
One day in the future, Freddy Lozano says he hopes his educational journey and the sacrifices he endured will inspire his own family to work even harder to achieve their dreams.
Attending classes at South Texas College entirely through the college’s online portal, Freddy says he is close to graduating with his Bachelor of Applied Technology (BAT) which he achieved while being employed full-time at the City of McAllen’s wastewater treatment plant.
“I started to see an opportunity for management positions coming down a few years away, so I decided that was a good opportunity to start to complete the bachelor's degree,” Freddy said. “Then I saw that STC had management degrees that I thought would be useful to give me a better chance at those positions that would be opening up.”
“Technology management applies pretty well to where I'm at now and for where I want to end up. Having that would be pretty beneficial,” he said.
“For students looking to succeed in college I would like to tell them that they have to make sacrifices now to receive the benefits that are sure to come to them. Just don’t give up. You have to understand that you don't have forever to get there.”
The BAT degree is designed to prepare students with relevant, technical knowledge of CIT practices, in order to provide solutions for real-world problems and technical support for computer-based information systems. Technology-oriented coursework forms the core requirements for the program, with an emphasis on the application and implementation of current technologies.
Potential careers include opportunities as computer and information system managers, computer network architects, information technology project managers, network and computer system administrators, and computer network specialists.
Freddy said he is slated to graduate this December.
“We use a lot of technology where I work, so having that background does help because we do have a lot of high tech equipment, really high tech hardware throughout the plant,” Freddy said. “We can monitor everything within seconds and control everything remotely. This degree really is a good foundation for that.
“For students looking to succeed in college I would like to tell them that they have to make sacrifices now to receive the benefits that are sure to come to them,” he said. “Just don’t give up. You have to understand that you don't have forever to get there.”