PEOPLE IN CERTIFICATION
operation. “Each department had a ta-
ble set up and we were all in a horse-
shoe formation, with IT at the bottom
of the shoe,” said Tokar.
Unfortunately, the girls skipped
right over the IT table and went to
the English department. Just one girl
spoke to Tokar all evening. “I was
excited when she asked if I was Mr.
Tokar. I said ‘Yes!’ Then she asked if I
knew the volleyball coach’s telephone
number. It was kind of a letdown.”
In spite of the department’s at-
tempts to interest more girls in IT,
there are usually just one or two girls
per class. “My own daughter had ev-
ery opportunity to become a nerd like
me,” joked Tokar. “I even made her
take my class, but in the end, she de-
cided computers weren’t her thing.”
Molding students
Students who complete Tokar’s
classes are qualified to work on help
desks and in basic network adminis-
tration. Each year a number of current
students land internships with local
companies. Those who graduate often
go to college, where they work as
computer repair techs. Others enter
the workforce with large companies
like Dominion Energy, or South Caro-
lina Electric and Gas.
A fair number also chose military
service and work in network ad-
ministration or cybersecurity. Those
who have earned an A+ certification
often receive meritorious promotions.
It’s common for former students to
contact Tokar to tell him how they
breezed through the military’s IT
training. “I love those phone calls
and e-mails telling me how easy their
training was after my classes,” he
said. “They say it was the easiest thing
they’ve ever done.”
In addition to helping students
perfect their IT skills, Tokar is a
big believer in soft skills. “I stress
soft skills on a daily basis,” he said.
“Professionalism, dress code, hygiene,
customer support, and interpersonal
skills are all very important and they
are graded on all of them.”
Communicating clearly and
concisely is also important. “I want
students to think about what they
will say before they say it,” said
Tokar.“ The kids lose points for
using space-fillers such as ‘like’ and
‘um.’ Students become so aware of
them that they eventually count and
comment on how many space-fillers
others use.”Tokar is an unabashed “fan of all
things nerdy,” and uses a few uncon-
ventional aids to teach communication
and critical thinking. “The number
one complaint I hear from employ-
ers is the lack of interpersonal skills
young people have upon entering the
workforce; they can’t even talk to one
another” he said.In addition to help-
ing students perfect their
IT skills, Tokar is a big
believer in soft skills.
‘I stress soft skills on a
daily basis,’ he said. ‘Pro-
fessionalism, dress code,
hygiene, customer sup-
port, and interpersonal
skills are all very import-
ant and they are graded
on all of them.’