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At Mountainland Applied Technology College (MATC) in Lehi, Utah, Jed Patrick works hard at training his information technology students. Of those students, you will find no one more determined to succeed than Patrick’s lab assistant, Trevor Steele.

Like many other people, Trevor’s passion for technology started as a child. His ultimate dream job was to become a game developer. For boyhood Trevor, there was nothing better than seeing how virtual games functioned. When Trevor turned 19, he saw the movie Tron, and his dream job altered. Although being a game developer would be pretty cool, he decided that he wanted to pursue a different route. Trevor became fascinated with the concepts showcased in the movie, especially the idea of getting into and out of a computer system. This led him to decide to become an IT technician.

Over time, Trevor’s passion for IT grew. His hope is to show companies that he is motivated and capable of tackling difficult tasks. And that he is. Trevor wants to be the best technician he can be in this industry. “I'm learning every day to know everything to the best of my ability,” he said.

Before entering MATC, 26 year-old Trevor had a strong desire to attend school. Impressed by the opportunities available from MATC, he took an entrance exam, hoping to participate in the information technology program. When his test results came back unfavorable, it didn’t stop Trevor from trying again. By the third failed attempt, it would have been easy to give in to discouragement and give up. That was never an option for Trevor Steele though, nor his family.

“[My family] had faith in me to continue and not give up on myself for taking the test,” Trevor says. Support from family members was the biggest reason behind his determination to continue to attempt the entrance exam. That bedrock of belief provided Trevor's strongest motivation to keep trying, and led to his eventual entrance into MATC. Now a regular student, Trevor has continued to be diligent, applying his zeal to earning IT certifications.

Having recently achieved the TestOut's PC Pro cert, Trevor is currently working on adding Network Pro, Security Pro and Cisco Pro (Switching & Routing) to his portfolio of TestOut credentials,  and has also set his sights on CompTIA’s A+, Network+ and Security+ certs. Trevor is hard at work in a place where he feels a sense of belonging.

Trevor isn’t the only test candidate who knows what it feels like to fail an exam, but one thing that we can all take from his example is his drive to never stop trying. Whether it is an entrance exam or a certification exam, Trevor would advise what Winston Churchill said long ago: “Never, never, never give up.” With the motivation to pass IT certifications, Trevor Steele works hard to achieve his goals. Each certification exam may not be easy to pass, but it will be worth every minute of effort and study.