James Vargas

This is a video testimonial of graduate James Vargas, a retired veteran the Navy after twenty years, originally wanted to go school after the military for business administration, but quickly discovered that aviation was his passion and what he wanted to pursue.

Transcript: 

I spent a majority of my life in the aviation industry. I’m retired Navy. I was an aviation electrician, and committed twenty years of my life to that. My job is very demanding now, I'm a Quality Control Manager for an incredible company. I work at the Los Angeles Air Force Base. Which is from my experience here at this school, I was able to take over there.

So, it's not just aviation hub of knowledge that you earn here at this school, it can be branched out into other industries as well.

When I started utilizing my post 9/11 GI Bill in the beginning, I decided that I was going to go to school. I was going to pursue a career in business management. But as I was going through the courses I realized that there was something missing in my life – you know, and that was aviation. I decided to move myself and my family to Los Angeles so I could attend, at that time Crimson Technical College, which is now Spartan.

Went through the entire A&P program, which is you know 18 months – very rigid course. I attended the evening classes because I had full time work. So, with the associate's program I decided that that was one thing that I wanted to pursue. You know, it's been an opportunity to make incredible friends, develop, you know, relationships. The staff here is extremely supportive. You know, as long as you show that you want to learn, they're going to teach you. They'll take the time out to teach you – they go above and beyond. And I see it growing into an even finer institution than what I originally became a part of.

With that certification, I attended the rocket for success course. I generally pursued the A&P certification because that was a requirement for me to be able to accomplish my next goal – to become a safety inspector for the FAA.

You enjoy coming here. You enjoy the people that you meet. You enjoy the fact that a majority of the people that you deal with on a daily basis, we all have the same passion. You know, we all want to be a part of this.

After getting out of the military or coming out of high school or just trying to find out, you know, where do I fit in. I love aircraft. I love working on cars. I love working with my hands. You know, those kinds of things. I would strongly suggest people to look in to see what Spartan has to offer.