Ansaer was accepted to a top-tier university, but when he recognized the stress that the tuition costs would place on his family, he decided to find another way.  He started working and began taking classes at the local community college.  This approach proved challenging.  Working three jobs while going to school made for a round-the-clock schedule. One night, driving from his overnight job to his day job, he got vertigo and nearly crashed his car. He knew he had to make a change and decided to join the U.S. Navy.

When he completed his service, Ansaer enrolled in YearUp, a tuition-free job training program, to hone his technical skills and connect to employment opportunities. He woke up every day excited for training. Personal circumstances caused him to leave the program for a year but he persevered and re-enrolled.  He credits family and friends for supporting him through that period and the coaches at YearUp for encouraging him to stay the course.

Upon graduation from YearUp, Ansaer started an internship as a QA Engineer at a large tech company.  Industry layoffs disrupted his plan to transition to a full-time role, so he is looking for another job and contemplating a second stint in the military. He knows that across his experiences, from his early entry-level jobs, his experience in the military, YearUp and his internship, he has cultivated a broad set of skills and capabilities but that finding job security is still a challenge. He believes he may have to put his passions aside for the time being to support himself. “Adversity feels like home”, he reflects, as he looks at the road ahead.