“Every time that a new course began with new students, I allowed myself to share personal stories and experiences of education, and teach them the meaning of perseverance, of being willing to learn, and having a passion for what motivates them to move forward.”
Gloria Castro is of indigenous Andean-area Aymara descent, and went to school in the commune of Camiña, a rural area in the north of Chile. Despite remoteness and economic disadvantage, academia beckoned.
“My goal was to study,” she says. “My teachers encouraged and motivated me to continue advancing.”
Forwarding dreams
“Having indigenous origins is not a barrier to moving forward; one must fight for their own dreams. Personally, aspiring to be a professional involves seeking alternatives and support tools to continue studying, overcoming barriers that may arise along the way,” she says.
“With my family, I moved to the city of Arica, where I continued my secondary and university studies, always with the encouragement of my teachers. One of the challenges was the economic part, so I looked for scholarships to continue.”
“At the university, the other challenge was overcoming the discrimination of being a woman in an Engineering career, since the field of Electronic Engineering was not well regarded for a woman at that time.”
Teaching life
After qualifying as an Electronic Engineer, Gloria earned a job with the University of Tarapacá as a laboratory instructor, with a focus on data communications and the latest technologies.
“In my studies, as a woman pursuing an engineering career, there were prejudices,” says Gloria. “In the workplace, a female engineer could not work in mining at that time. However, as a teacher, there were no barriers.”
When the university became a Cisco Networking Academy, Gloria was one of two instructors selected to train to become instructors, which meant travelling to the United States to study.
In 2003, Gloria attended the New Hanover County Schools Academy in Wilmington, North Carolina. At the time four of the courses in the CCNA curriculum were only in English, which presented Gloria another challenge. Doing so was “complicated” she says, but she stresses she had a very good experience doing her CCNA.
Cisco Networking Academy instructor
Gloria returned to Chile as the country’s first female Cisco Networking Academy instructor.
“To have the opportunity to be a Cisco Networking Academy instructor, motivating and teaching students who open new doors in their professional lives,” is something that Gloria says is a defining moment in her life.
“Every time that a new course began with new students, I allowed myself to share personal stories and experiences of education, and teach them the meaning of perseverance, of being willing to learn, and having a passion for what motivates them to move forward,” she says.
“The Cisco Networking Academy courses provide theory on a very user-friendly platform,” says Gloria, while also praising the practical laboratory work with its up-to-date equipment, problem-solving and teamwork that it encourages.
Opening doors for women in tech
And it is opening doors for women in tech: “As a professional in the field of technology, it has been gradually observed that the attitudes to women have been changing in these areas. We are increasing in number, facing new challenges in the technology field, so it’s important to continue motivating women, as Cisco Networking Academy does.”
While Gloria has retired from the University of Tarapacá, she continues to study and to work as a Cisco Networking Academy instructor.
“While I was working at the University of Tarapacá and now that I am retired, I am still in communication with many of my former students who are now professionals and colleagues working in Chile and for international companies,” says Gloria, adding that this connection is made possible by the digital technologies she has spent her working life teaching.
“I have been a Cisco Networking Academy instructor for 20 years, with a certificate of excellence,” she says. “I thank my mother and my family who were the fundamental pillars in the stages of my life.”
“I thank the University of Tarapacá for the opportunity to be an instructor and Cisco Networking Academy for the work and teaching it provides to the community.”
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