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As you enter my world of trial and tribulations, you will see how I got here today and the visions of my future. My name is Allan Caguiat, a 1st generation Filipino-American, currently residing in
Santa Clara,
California. Over the past 24 years of my life, I have encountered various obstacles while trying to achieve my academic and career goals. Not only did these obstacles transform me into the man I am today, but it also taught me that no matter how many setbacks I had in my path, as long as I kept moving, I can overcome anything that came my way.
Being the only child and raised by a single mother, I had all the love a child could ask for. I attended church, went to school, played sports, stayed actively involved with the community. During my sophomore year, I was recommended an internship at Intel Corporation by my vice principal and later on interned at Hewlett-Packard after I graduated from high school in June 2001.
Life could not have been any better as I was about to enroll myself in college the upcoming fall—plans of furthering my education. All this was altered on that terrible day in September 2001. After watching and hearing about the attacks on the World Trade Center, I wanted to serve my country and I decided to enlist as a reserve in the Marine Corps—so I could still go to school.
On November 2001, I walked into the recruiting office, signed my name on the dotted line; the following week I went to boot camp and then later to communication technician school. This halted my education for a year. When I came back I decided to enroll at De Anza winter 2002 because it was cheaper transferring to a UC. Since the reserves didn’t pay much and gas prices were up I needed to find a job to pay for transportation and food. I took a few quarters off to earn money not knowing about financial aid, until a year later.
Fast forward three years to November 2005. I was a full-time student trying to finish up the last six weeks of my fall quarter classes when my unit received news that we would be activated the following month - December 2005 as Military Police. That meant a deployment to
Iraq as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. I had to withdraw my all my classes, which once again halted my education.
During my stay in
Iraq, our platoon was split-up, leaving five of us to run our section. As a Corporal, I was entrusted as the Battalion Maintenance Chief. My work consisted of setting up technician shops in the Al Anbar province; flying and convoying from one location to another, troubleshooting, installing, repairing, and maintaining the accountability of the Battalion’s communication and explosive counter-measure assets, so that all units under our command doing convoy missions, training of Iraqi police and base protection were communicating and well-protected. Despite sleepless nights, I managed to enroll myself in an online finance/accounting class, which I passed. I strived hard for a promotion to Sergeant; instead I was awarded a Navy Achievement Medal.
 These obstacles didn’t stop me from continuing to reach my goals; I am currently a full time student determined to transfer to a UC using financial aid, to pursue my bachelors in business economics. My ultimate goal is to start up a few small businesses providing short seminars on understanding the key technology usages and simply bridging the “digital divide,” while passing down my knowledge and experiences to help others full fill theirs.
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