Moving Forward

“Developing a relationship is key to building a career,” says BMCC alumni Christian Meyers, and he credits his achievements at BMCC to the supportive relationships he formed with staff, faculty and fellow students while he earned his associate degree in computer information systems.

Now he’s working days in BMCC’s COPE program—helping connect students with the services they need—and attending night classes at City College of Technology, CUNY, completing a bachelor’s degree in computer network security.

“I want to work in IT [Information Technology],” he says.

“With all this hacking going on, at corporations and with personal accounts, I want to be part of the wave of people developing new encryption methods and systems to protect people’s data.”

Being a role model

A returning student, Meyers has a son attending college in Georgia and is raising a new daughter.

“I want to be a role model for my children,” says the BMCC Foundation Scholar who made the Dean’s List, volunteered as a student ambassador and worked in the college’s computer center.

With the help of his computer information systems professor Lin Leung, he also took part in a mobile forensics project at Pace University.

“Christian Meyers impressed me with his perseverance and willingness to help other students,” says Professor Leung.
“I was pleased to help him enter the cyber-security workshop at Pace, where he was a positive impact on that group, too.”

Feeling like a winner

The road to these accomplishments has not been easy. “In 2006, I was sitting on Rikers Island, in jail at age 30,” says Meyers.

“When I got out, I felt confident I would pass the GED test, and with encouragement from my fiancée, I applied to BMCC.”

Receiving scholarships and moral support at BMCC “boosted me to a whole new level,” he says.

“For the first time, I felt like a winner. I even find myself advising the young guys at school, because I know how fast your life can change from one bad decision.”

As a new student at City Tech, “Honestly, it’s hard,” he says.

“I go to classes at night so I mainly just show up for class, then leave as soon as it’s over. But I’ll find a way to connect like I did at BMCC. I’m moving forward, that’s what matters.”