Capece met with Congressman Paul Tonko during his time in Washington, DC.
When Anthony Capece helped his father fix computers and servers at local hotels as a young child, he had no idea that his experience then would play a big role in sending him to Washington, DC to lobby for reauthorization of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Improvement Act of 2006, known more commonly as the Perkins Grant.
Capece is a senior at Averill Park High School and is beginning his second year of Questar III’s Academy for Information Technology (AIT) program at Rensselaer Educational Center.
He says it was working with his father when he was younger that got him interested in computers initially. By 13 he began programming and scripting, and at 14 he built his first computer.
In his first year in the AIT program, Capece built a functioning network, created a video game, and completed the first half of the Cisco Certified Entry Networking Technician (CCENT) program. CCENT is a certification showing the holder is able to create, maintain and troubleshoot a small network, including basic network security. The CCENT is the first step toward attaining a Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) certification, which covers medium-size networks with more complex connections.
Capece, Treasurer for Skills USA Area III, took part in the Skills USA Washington Leadership Training Institute from September 19-23. To be considered for this experience, Capece wrote an essay about how Questar III has used Perkins funding and evidence showing how the funding has had a positive outcome. Students are chosen to attend based on a history of leadership and involvement.
While in the nation’s capital, Capece met with Congressman Paul Tonko to advocate for the reauthorization of the Perkins Grant. The funding from the Perkins Grant goes to help schools provide better and ever-growing CTE programs for students.
“The funding is to help the program expand and improve the program’s quality. If you need new computers for a program but don’t have funds available for some reason, Perkins’ can help with that,” Capece said.
He told Congressman Tonko how the AIT program has helped him prepare for a career in an industry that is quickly becoming the backbone of the world.
“With computers and networking- everything is going digital. Everything is going to be interconnected, and you need someone to build it, manage it, and expand it,” said Capece.
He also says without the AIT program at Questar III, he wouldn’t have access to things he needs to prepare for the workforce.
“Without the program I wouldn’t have Cisco online for my CCENT- you can only get that through a CTE center,” he says.
Capece hopes one day to work for Google, doing just about anything, but really hopes to get into cybersecurity. He wants to thank Questar III and Averill Park CSD for the opportunity to not only attend the AIT program but also for the chance to visit the nation’s capital and meet with legislative leaders.
