Connecting the Dots: My Journey from Graduate to Mentor through UpSkill
Part 1: Coming out of College
When I graduated from college, I didn’t feel unprepared but I did feel uncertain. I had just spent years studying design, sharpening my creative skills, and putting together a portfolio I was proud of. But the landscape I was entering did not look like the one I had envisioned. AI Generated art was on the rise. At the time, it was clunky, and not really “there” yet, but it was enough to make me pause and think ahead. About where it was all going. I knew I needed to act early, if I was going to make a shift like this then it was better to get started sooner rather than later. I didn’t want to wait around to see if the AI tools would catch up, I wanted to stay ahead of them and feel secure in whatever working environment I chose to be in. That meant rethinking where I wanted to grow next.
So I decided to lean back into something I already had an interest in: technology. I’d always enjoyed problem solving, logic, and systems – and I knew that if I combine that mindset with my creative background I might be able to carve out something more sustainable. That is what lead me to start exploring bootcamps and skill-building programs. After studying the job market, I decided to jump into a cybersecurity bootcamp, hoping that it would open doors. I did learn a lot there, but the job market was its own struggle. I kept interviewing, applying, trying but unfortunately nothing was landing. I didn’t want my time looking for jobs to appear as time idle so I decided to keep going. I started searching for another program to help build my skills and that is when I found the UpSkill program.
Part 2: My time at UpSkill
When I first joined the UpSkill program, I’ll admit that I came in looking just to add another line to my resume. Something that could show I was still actively learning and not just sitting sedentary. I had already done a bootcamp, and I figured this would be a good way to stack on more skills. What I quickly learned though was that UpSkill wasn't just about learning Microsoft tools, although we absolutely worked in power apps, power automate, SharePoint, and the dataverse. But it wasn’t about “just learn the software and pass a test.” We were building real solutions and thinking about how systems connect. It felt less like a course and more like a creative space where we were encouraged to test ideas, collaborate, and solve problems like people do in the real world. There’s something really powerful about learning in a space that doesn’t just teach you what to do, but teaches you how to apply that knowledge by having you navigate working with others. By the end of the experience, I didn’t just walk away with new tools – I walked away more confident, and more capable on what I could actually do.
Part 3: Connecting the Dots
Finishing UpSkill didn’t solve everything, but it did give me something I hadn’t felt in a while: momentum. I was moving again. Not just going through the motions, not just adding skills for the sake of it, but really growing. Working on real projects, presenting in front of people, solving actual problems with others. That made me feel capable again. Not just on paper, but in practice. So when I was asked if I’d be interested in helping with the program, I said yes immediately.
I knew how much it had helped me, and I knew how valuable it would be to see someone who had just been through it now standing on the other side. I wanted to be that for someone else. Now I support the same program I went through, guiding others who are trying to figure out their next step, just like I was. I remember what it felt like to be uncertain, to want to prove yourself, to need just one space where someone believed in what you could do. That’s the space I try to help create.
UpSkill teaches tech, sure. But what it really builds is people: how they work together, how they communicate, how they bounce back when something goes wrong. That’s what stuck with me the most, and that’s why I think it works. If you’re in that in-between place, trying to move forward, trying to build something that lasts, this program is worth looking into. It helped me reset. Now I help others find their own version of that. If you’re ready for your next step, even if you’re not sure what it looks like yet, take a look at UpSkill. It might be exactly the momentum you’ve been waiting for.
Click here to learn more about Upskill
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