Story: The journey hasn't ended, I still have the PASSION towards success. What is easy does not have any value, what is earned is EVERYTHING!

Hard work, dedication, honor, integrity were principles instilled in me from my parents at a young age. It led me to willingly sacrifice so much in the military and search for a post-military career that allowed for the same. Merivis showed me I could take those core values and bring them into a lasting career with Salesforce, and now I owe it to our community to ensure that same opportunity is available for veterans and spouses from all over.

To understand why I'm partaking in this campaign:
 

Merivis

In December of 2018, I applied to the App Builder class for February and at the beginning of the year almost backed out because I accepted a contract role in Washington, DC (Took a leap to fully commit in a career using Salesforce). At the contract I met a Merivis alumni (Alexander Nelson) which informed me of the great program and hands-on training approach provided. Because of him and not having a problem with the company to pursue my goals. I have made the best decision in my life!

This by far is something I needed back in 2009, when I transitioned out of the military or even recently when I decided to take on the Admin cert on my own. I not only learned valuable Salesforce in-person training, they also provided guidance through matching with a coach Donald Bohrisch (I'm left speechless to how much he's helped me), resume professional help and a FAMILY that has your back and pushes you towards SUCCESS!

The purpose and reason for my passion for Merivis is because it helps Veterans like myself and spouses excel in their career to obtain a better future.

Take a different approach towards opportunities, don’t let doubt stop you!

Your desire to improve your life starts in your mind.

You can achieve anything you set your mind to do.

• Always invest in yourself towards what you want. Do not wait for your job to train you, by the time it’s approved (50% chance) you’ll have to wait for the next session. The training provided was in Austin, Texas. This training would have been in Seattle, Washington (which it was this year) I would have gone the extra mile to invest in myself.

“Vets and Military Spouses shouldn’t have to struggle after leaving the military.” Joe Castro

I struggled with no guidance and did what I had to do to provide for my family!  Please don’t let this happen to the future veterans getting out with having to figure out what's next (when they are already out) it's too late!

Back Story and my journey towards Salesforce career path

The past generations have paved a way out of Dominican Republic for a better future for their children. My parents used to live in a part of Santiago (Placeta Arriba) where when they were kids they had to walk more than five kilometers to go to school. If that wasn’t a struggle then being mandated by your parents to stay home and help with the chore to be able to provide food for the growing family. My mother has eight siblings and my father has 11 . Two years before I was born, they received the visas to be allowed to work in the United States. Barely a chance to know my father growing up as he did what he had to do for us and worked long hours. Growing up and noticed 12-16 hour shifts of owning and operating grocery stores was not in my future.

Knowing that college wasn’t for me after High School, I chose a path of hardship and joined the Marines!  Honor, Courage and Commitment! The Marines have instilled more values that I live by (JJDIDTIEBUCKLE).
Barney Style: 14 Leardership Traits in an acronym.

This will help: JJDIDTIEBUCKLE

Just shy of nine years and I got the chance to travel and work from many places (Japan, DC, Hawaii etc…).

To this day I recommend kids to join the military with guidance from someone that’s been there and done that!

Marine Corps was my life and they allowed me (I accepted) to exit the military with the simple plan of going to college. While in college, I attempted to take advantage and applied for a career towards procurement and asset management, but no jobs similar to my background existed in Florida.

Luckily a good friend Blaze Llanos (Marines) reached out to me for an opportunity within the company he worked for. Moving computers while the company transferred employees from Bowling Green, KY to Ft. Lauderdale, FL. I was accepted for that role and quickly excelled in the IT industry by learning on the job skills to solve technical issues, deploy and manage IT equipment and provide help-desk business solutions. A few years later there was another acquisition where the company (ours) acquired another one in a different state and moved to Greensboro, NC. We were a team of 40 in different IT departments which went down to only two employees allowed to stay in Ft. Lauderdale. Surviving that I had to ramp up quick and be able to support our remote office of more than 100 employees. 

Towards the end of 2017, VP of IT inquired what I knew about Salesforce, to which I responded, “please allow me to do some research”. We had an a unique instance of Salesforce implemented in 2014 where nobody improved it since then. I starting learning through Trailhead on my own and became passionate about my career possibilities only working and solving business solutions on this platform. To which (on my own) successfully passed the Salesforce Administrator certification. I still had a lot to learn and wanted to learn it fast! Looking back I wish I would have done things differently.

I am simply asking my Friends and Family to help reach the $1000 GOAL, before December 1st, to contribute to this organization that is not only transforming careers but building families. Small amounts go a long way, larger amounts can reach a multitude of veterans so they can support their families and communities for a lifetime through meaningful tech careers.

A small contribution from everyone who reads my reason to support Merivis will make a difference!
 

Donate to this cause! (It’s tax deductible)

I am on the road to success and I owe it to Merivis and Vetforce!

Merivis supports veterans preparing for their next missions through training, mentorship and job readiness for Salesforce cloud technology positions.  With a growing need for Salesforce certified professionals and an increasing number of underemployed veterans in the country, we bridge the gap to help veterans transition to civilian life and find great careers. Since we started in 2015, Merivis has impacted the lives of nearly 250 military veterans by supporting them in their transition to civilian careers. Through our Salesforce training programs, we've put them on the path to growing, in-demand technology roles and we couldn't have done it without every member of the Merivis community.

We invite those that have been a part of Merivis as students, alumni, volunteers, coaches, sponsors, advocates and friends to join the Merivis fundraising team in spreading the word and raising funds to host additional programs in support our veterans. 

You can contribute through my Alumni or the main Merivis fundraiser page here to help them reach their goal. 

Click on the YouTube site to be able to see the video from Merivis.