Written by Kathryn Ross
Jeremy Honma is a recent grad—so recent, in fact, that he’s had the title of “alumni” for only three months. Since graduating in December 2020, however, Honma has already secured an impressive position as an IT Manufacturing Support Technician with Tesla.
Oftentimes, majors can lead to a number of different job opportunities—some we might not have even expected or considered. For Honma, however, majoring in Computer Information Systems at APU led him directly into his lucrative job in IT.
“Since starting at APU in 2017,” says Honma, “I’ve held multiple jobs within IMT, including jobs at the repair center and with the network engineering group. I cannot stress how important my experience with IMT has been,” continues Honma. “They have played a massive part in where I am today. The staff in the repair center and the 680 engineering team have given me every opportunity to learn and grow in preparation for my career. I started out repairing computers and answering tickets and ended with the knowledge to maintain and troubleshoot the university network that supports over 10,000 users.”
These experiences eventually led to internships: “My experiences strengthened my resume, allowing me to obtain IT internships with Lucasfilm and Tesla. In turn, those experiences helped me reach my current full-time position and have been extremely impactful in all they’ve taught me.”
Honma’s interest in IT began at a pretty young age, and his journey from curious kid to full-time employee started in the family. “My father is an IT director and I’ve followed in his footsteps,” notes Honma. “I’ve been interested in computers since a young age; I was always on my home computer, playing games and messing around.” As he got older, Honma turned his time on the computer into work: “In high school I interned at a church doing IT work and really enjoyed helping people solve their problems. Over time, I was given the tools and opportunities actually make it my career.”
“At the same time,” continued Honma, “my dad was unemployed and doing contract IT work to make ends meet. I often went with him on jobs doing network configuration, spinning up servers, and helping users with basic troubleshooting. This gave me confidence in my abilities.”
During his time at APU, Honma was impacted not just by his studies, but also by the community around him. “I’ve found incredible friends at APU as well as professional connections,” Honma notes. “I know that I’ll keep in touch with some of them for the rest of my life.” As his time at APU has only recently ended, Honma remarks that finding one big meaningful APU experience is hard to do. “I don’t think I’ve had one,” he says. “Instead, I’ve had many small but equally meaningful experiences, from the professors I’ve met to the friends I’ve made. I think that the people at APU have been a huge part of my experience and they’re APU’s greatest asset. I’ve learned so much from so many!”
That said, one of the most important things Honma has learned is that no matter your vocation, faith can always play a part. “During my final semester, my professors talked a lot about how faith should tie into our careers—the roles we take on and the companies we work for and such,” says Honma. While his Christian-based education hasn’t exactly influenced his newest position just yet, Honma sees it definitely making an impact on his career in the future: “I imagine that one day I’ll be like my father and do IT for a church, and APU has strengthened that goal.”
Finally, with his undergrad career so close in the rearview, Honma has some advice for future and current APU students:
“APU has a lot of valuable opportunities to kickstart your career. Professors have lots of projects for students to be involved in and the school itself brings in a lot of companies with job fairs and industry connections. Specifically for CS and CIS students, IMT is an incredible opportunity to gain job experience while in school. The staff at IMT love the students and will give them opportunities to learn and grow so when they leave, they are prepared for a real career.”
