Before Joe Miller came to C-TEC of Licking County in Newark, Ohio, he was without a high school diploma and without direction. 

 “I was mentally not in a great place and was ‘lost’ with what felt like no purpose, Miller said. After taking the first extremely difficult step of realizing that there needed to be a change in my life, I ended up in front of the doors of C-TEC where unbeknownst to me, it would be a colossal turning point in my life.”

Miller enrolled in the GED prep courses and was made aware of the Adult Diploma Program, an Ohio program that provides job training and an alternate pathway for adults, ages 20 or older, to earn an industry-recognized credential aligned to one of Ohio’s in-demand jobs while earning their high school equivalency. 

While attending C-TEC, he first earned the CompTIA A+ certification as part of the Adult Diploma Program. After completing the requirements for his high school diploma, Joe returned and completed the full-time NetTech program and was also able to earn a Linux Essentials Certification.

After graduating, Miller quickly landed a contract position with Ascena Retail Group as a Tier I Service Desk Analyst and then moved into a Tier II position. Eventually, he was hired directly by Ascena as a Client Technologies Analyst before being promoted to the position of Client Systems Engineer working with Splunk enterprise software. Within two years of graduating, Miller has moved on to work directly for Splunk as a Professional Services Consultant. 

“I would first like to thank C-TEC for all their support and their diligence on bringing new hope for adults who have not had the chance nor the pleasure of pursuing careers in their life,” Miller offered. “Today, I stand with a very successful career in IT at a company that I love; more confident in my abilities, proud of the achievements I’ve attained with the help of the C-TEC establishment and their fantastic teachers.”