As a kid, Jonah Hoflin always liked computers, and has been building them his whole life.
“You can trick them out the way you can with a racecar,” he said.
Jonah, who grew up in a family where college is the exception, left high school with his GED and has been a restaurant worker ever since. He wasn’t happy with what he was doing.
When he heard from a friend that he might qualify for Worker Retraining funding, he enrolled in Peninsula College’s IT Systems Administration program.
“I wanted to do something I had a passion for, which was computers and technology,” he said.
Thanks to the Worker Retraining and BFET programs, he has not had to pay for tuition, books, or supplies.
The father of two small children, Jonah hopes to inspire his kids to consider college as an avenue to earn money doing something they love.
“[I wanted] to be an example for my children, to say, ‘It’s never too late to improve yourself.’ And to do something that you really enjoy, not just do something that you feel you have to do to make money.”
Both his one-year-old son and four-year-old daughter are currently students at PC’s Early Childhood Development Center, a childcare center onsite at the Port Angeles campus. His daughter will graduate from preschool this spring.
Jonah is poised to earn his associate degree in information technology this month. He and his daughter both look forward to their first graduations; they plan to walk together at the commencement ceremony on June 16, 2023.
Peninsula College will host “Cyber Games Family Night” on Friday, April 21 from 5:00 – 8:00 pm in Keegan Hall where families will learn about cybersecurity, play games, explore the Esports arena, and more! Sign up to join in at bit.ly/3FsSp7N.
