Walking into the Capital IDEA office for the first time in 4 years was a blast from the past for Shahida Ferdous. The memories of sitting on the couch in the reception area, walking down the hall into the testing room where she took her vocational assessment, and finally, the office of Janie Mendoza, where she had her initial interview. These memories were quite vivid to Shahida, and she couldn’t help but feel a sense of overwhelming gratitude and accomplishment. Compared to her first visit to Capital IDEA, she was a different person now. She’s graduated college, started a new career, and grown in confidence, both in herself and her abilities. It was a notable and exciting difference.

Shahida was born and raised in Bangladesh, a country where she says women were typically not given many opportunities for career advancement and learning. Still, Shahida’s father noticed how good of a student she was in high school and hoped she would continue her education. “My dad always wished I had higher education, but he died about 17 years ago. Sadly, he didn’t see it.”

Feeling the pressure of cultural expectations, Shahida married shortly after turning 18 and immigrated to the United States with her now ex-husband. She devoted 20 years to running a household and raising a family until a tumultuous marriage led to a divorce and left her on her own with three daughters. With no work experience and limited English, she worked a series of low-paying, entry-level jobs, mostly in hospitality and retail, doing what she could to survive and provide for her children.

After six years of bouncing between entry-level jobs, Shahida needed a change. Two of her daughters had started their own careers, and she wanted that for herself. “I was tired of struggling. I wanted a job with good pay so I could pay my bills, and I wanted a job with health insurance.”

One fateful afternoon, while stopping for food, she saw a flyer for Capital IDEA. At first, she couldn’t believe it. Turning to her daughter, she asked, “is this real?” With her daughter’s encouragement, she looked into it and was excited to learn they really would pay for her college. But other doubts quickly crept in as she wondered if she could juggle college while working enough hours to provide for her family. She applied anyway. “When I was taking the exam, I was praying, ‘God, please let them pick me. I’ll work hard. Just give me one chance, and I promise I’ll do it. I can do it.’ In my country, we don’t have opportunities like this.”

Her vocational assessment matched her to tech, her career field of choice, but even with that confirmation, Shahida still had doubts. Before her divorce, she’d barely touched a computer, and since then, everything she’d learned, her daughters had taught her. “I still wasn’t sure I could do it, but Janie reassured me that I could and that I would end up with a good job.” It was the push she needed. Shahida enrolled in the Network Administration program at ACC, moving one step closer to a degree, a career, and, importantly, health insurance.

Even though Shahida had been a good student in high school, 25 years had passed. She’d forgotten what it was like to be in a classroom, and her English was self-taught. “Could I even do it?” She worried, but her resolve won out. “I just had to try. My daughters would tell me to just try it.”

Shahida worked hard for every grade in every class, opting for extra tutoring between shuttling her youngest daughter to and from school. “I’d drop her off. Then go to class. Then go back to pick her up in the afternoon. I worked Saturdays and Sundays full-time just to get more hours. Sometimes Fridays too, and one of my older daughters had to pick her up from school.”

Along the way, she rediscovered something she had forgotten about herself — she was smart. “When I got an A in Introduction to Network Administration, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh! I’m smart! I can do this!’” After that, she got A’s in all her classes except Python. “It was really hard. It was the only class I got a B in.”

In the summer of 2020, Shahida got word that her mother had passed away. It was a difficult loss made even more difficult by COVID restrictions. Unable to travel to be with her family, she continued with her online classes and found moments to grieve when she could. Then a few months later, in the midst of a pandemic, Shahida was diagnosed with cancer.

She could’ve dropped out of school, and nobody would’ve blamed her. “When I found out I had cancer, I wondered if I should put so much effort into my classes if I might not finish the program. My daughter encouraged me to keep trying because she believed I would get better.” Her daughter was right. While painful and grueling, the radiation treatments were successful. In 2022, she was declared cancer-free, though she’ll remain under medical supervision for the next five years.

During treatment, she managed to keep her grades up while also interning at VISA. “The people at VISA were so great. They said I could take it easy if I needed to. I would go to radiation treatments in the morning and work in the afternoon.” As an intern, she reported to Capital IDEA alum Skyler Coffman. “Skyler was very good as my supervisor and very understanding.”

In December 2022, Shahida graduated with a 3.96 GPA and her associate degree in network administration, delivering on that promise she’d made to God years before during her assessment, “Just give me one chance. I’ll do it.” After graduation, VISA offered her a flexible permanent position working remotely and part-time to allow her to work around ongoing medical appointments with health insurance.

Today, Shahida’s career in tech continues to move upward. While, historically, the tech field has been male dominated, more women, like Shahida, have found tech to be a great fit. “In my perspective, women are very capable of doing this job, and with remote jobs, it provides an opportunity for them to take care of their family and work from home if they need to.” Next, she has her sights set on earning a bachelor’s degree in cybersecurity. She plans on enrolling in ACC’s bachelor’s program when it launches, and her accomplishments have given her every confidence that she can reach this next goal too. “In ten years, I made it here!” In 10 years, she learned English, became proficient at computers, got her degree in network administration, landed a job at one of the top companies in the country, raised her daughters as a single mother, and beat cancer. Compared to all of that, earning a bachelor’s degree seems eminently possible.

Shahida overcame so much to get to where she is today, but she doesn’t think it makes her unique. “There are a lot of people like me. They don’t know every opportunity available to them, and sometimes people lose hope. When I got out of my damaging relationship and started my own life with my children, I was just looking for an opportunity because I never had it. I didn’t know how to apply for a job or school. My daughters had to figure it out for themselves, and I was learning from them. So, when I got the opportunity, I valued it.” To anyone doubting they can succeed the way she has, her advice is to “Just try. Trust in yourself and the people around you to help you, and if you don’t believe it’s real, just at least try it. And keep faith and hope that it’s real. Because it is.”

In March of 2023, Capital IDEA proudly awarded Shahida the Aurora Alworth Spirit Award in recognition of the incredible perseverance and dedication she displayed throughout her academic journey. View photos from the event: Facebook » | Dropbox »

If you’re looking for an opportunity like Shahida, we have one for you. Earn your degree for free through Capital IDEA, and start a career path that can change your life. You can email our team at outreach@capitalidea.org, or sign up for an information session: LEARN MORE »