Taiheem's love of making music inspired a career in information technology

"In four months, 16 weeks, my life changed. I had graduated and I had a job. And...I felt proud of myself. I felt I was able to support my family. And that was the start of my career in the tech industry."

"My passion for technology stemmed from my want to make beats led me to learning how to build a better computer. Once I learned that, from watching YouTube videos, I was like, man, I can learn this formally and actually go get certified for it and get a job. It's something I wouldn't mind doing every day. And it just lights the spark in me, and I love to learn, and love technology. So music actually led to me gaining this tech career. If it wasn't for the fact that I wanted to make beats so bad, I don't think that I would have been in IT.

My name is Taiheem Wentt.

I'm from NYC, born in Manhattan, lived in every borough. Right now I'm an IT help desk specialist."

Can you share a challenge you faced and how it shaped you?

"Growing up, my mom, from as early as I can remember, has been a single mom. When relationships don't work out, sometimes you can even become displaced. And that's what happened to us. So a large part of our older child to adolescent stage was spent moving around different shelters.

And that was kind of my childhood, almost like a vagabond, per se. I felt different. I felt like it was unfair. I was mad because I felt like my mom was doing way too much. I was mad because I was poor. I was mad because I was too weak to fight the the older people that was teasing me and my brother. I was mad because I felt like I wasn't doing enough to help my family.

What keeps you motivated?

I definitely channeled it into music because I was that kid that was making beats on the lunchroom table with the two pens. I didn't know what a producer was, but I knew I wanted to make music but I knew I couldn't play any instruments well.

My guidance counselor calls me in. She's like, 'You need to figure out what you want to do with your life.' At this point, my mom is already like, 'Dude, you need to figure out where you're gonna go, where you're gonna live because you're not gonna stay here and you're not doing anything positive for yourself.'

And she had a very old desktop there and that had FL Studio demo version on it. And the computer wasn't compatible with it. So I was like, 'Okay, how do I make my computer compatible with this?'

And then it told me how much memory and how much RAM I needed and what operating system I needed to be on. Then I looked up how to upgrade to this operating system and it said you needed this hardware so I was like, 'Damn, I don't have this PC. I don't have the money to buy another PC what am I gonna do?'

When I would leave from school there would sometimes offices nearby would sometimes throw out old computers so there'd be computer parts. So I was like, 'Let me start collecting these cuz I know you can build it, you can build a computer.'

So, I would come home with new things every day. So, like, a desktop. So, that would be my motherboard. I would come with a monitor. I would come with sometimes an empty tower case. My mom at this point, she's like, 'Now you're bringing stuff home. My God, this boy.'

I started to watch YouTube videos on how to put the things together just so I can make beats cuz I loved it, it put me at ease. I was able to be creative and still productive at the same time. I eventually gathered enough stuff to be able to just stuff it all into one of the laptop. I mean computer cases I found. They were laptop pieces put on a desktop motherboard to get it to work and I was finally able to install Windows 7.

That was my shining moment of, my God, I can do this and from that point on anytime I needed to upgrade anything,I would just research it myself. So, I googled free IT training and I found this program that is willing to take you on and train you for IT support in four months.

I applied. I wrote an essay about why I like IT. I mentioned my passion for Music. I mentioned what I would be doing after I completed the program and how dedicated I felt towards it and I was all she wrote.

I was like, man, I'm doing this. I'm determined. And it was all I couldn't do anything else I ate, slept and drank IT. Every time I went to work on the train, I had the textbook open. I had downloaded the Quizlet app and I made flashcards to quiz myself. I was so passionate about it. I had 101 fever when I took my net plus exam. And I passed it and got my certification.

And in four months, 16 weeks, my life changed. I had graduated and I had a job. And I felt like something. I felt proud of myself. I felt I was able to support my family. And that was the start of my career in the tech industry.

It all comes down to. You find things that interest you. Then you find something that mixes your interest together that you think you would be passionate in you try it out and if it's yours, you grab it and run with it."

Want more inspiring videos and real student stories?

Up Next: Denise, Brooklyn, NY

Working 80 Hours A Week To Give My Family a Better Life

Denise was burning out when she realized she needed to find a better way to help support her family.

"I just want financial well-being, and a happy life, with the ones around me that I love...If one thing fails, go to plan B, if plan B doesn't work, go to plan C. Just keep trying, as long as you keep moving forward, you can't stay back."