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with me and my brothers, we really wanted to um make our parents proud. Hello Blue Jays, and welcome to the nest, stories about life after Manor College. I'm your host, Kelly Peiffer, a vice president of marketing communications, and this is the best part of my day. My hope is that this podcast will encourage, inform, and inspire you, making you feel like at Manor College you belong here always. Before we get to today's guest, it is time for to make a special announcement. Each year, we have a special alumni

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speaker at our commencement. This year, our alumni speaker will be delivered by Manor College alumni, John Dempster. As many of you know John, or JD. He is the beloved athletic director at Manor College. He graduated from Manor in 1999 with a degree in liberal arts. In that time, he has led the Blue Jays on and off the field. This year alone, he has overseen the success of two conference championships, one in men's soccer and one in men's basketball, while also guiding the introduction of two new

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sports at Manor College, men's volleyball and women's flag football. JD is a graduate of Abraham Lincoln High School, Go Rail Splitters, and resides in the city with his wife Christine and daughters, Llaya and Kina. JD will speak from the podium to the class of 2026 during Manor's commencement on Thursday, May 14th at 1 p.m. Today's episode is sponsored by Manor College. We believe you deserve an education that feels like home. We offer associate and bachelor degrees in high demand fields like

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business, psychology, and practical nursing. Our small class sizes mean that your professors know more than just your name and you get personalized attention that you need to truly thrive. Discover a supportive environment just outside of Philadelphia where success is built one student at a time. It's more than a college, it's a community. If you're ready to find your place, visit manor.edu today to explore your options and see why you belong here. That's manor.edu. You belong here. Our next guest today is

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a true local success story who bridges the gap between New York and Pennsylvania. A proud graduate of Abington Senior High, he came to Manor College with a clear mission and the drive to succeed as a first generation college student. During his time on campus, you could often find him right in the heart of the community, participating in a lot of student activities. But when he wasn't engaging with the Manor life, he was diving deep into the technological world of computer information systems. Guided by the

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mentorship of faculty, he stayed the course to reach a major milestone, earning his bachelor's degree in 2023. Today, he has taken those skills directly into the field, providing essential tech solutions as an IT help desk support applied sciences corporation in Warminster. Please welcome from the class of 2023, Manor College alumni, Ledny Joseph. Hi, Ledny. >> Hello. Thanks for being with us today. >> Yes, thanks for having me. >> So, start us off. How did you hear about Manor College and what made you decide

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to attend? >> Um, so I heard about Manor College be before I um mentioned that. Um, so with my work, they were really um encouraging me to finish my bachelor's degree. Um that way I I'd be able to move up in position at my job. Um I was really looking for a uh software development role um a data administration role. Um so they really encouraged me to look to finish my bachelor so I could move up in position. Um so Manor's actually down the road from uh where I grew up. So all the time

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I would go to Alverthorpe Park. Um I would see Manor College uh there right across the road. Um so it would have been a very easy commute for me uh to go across just right down the road there. >> Hey, nothing's wrong with convenience. That's fine. That's awesome. >> Yes. Yes. So I that was the first college that I looked at. Um and I looked at the different programs they had there. Saw if that was an opportunity for me. Um, and I I saw they did have the programs that I was looking

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for. So, I took I saw the chance and I took it. >> That's awesome. Cool. I love that. Sometimes it's just as simple as like what's around me? What's What am I familiar with? They have the right program. I don't need to think any more than that. So, that that's so cool. So, did you already have an associates degree from somewhere else or? >> Yes. So, originally I went to Montco. I had an associates in uh liberal studies and associates in engineering. Um so I transferred uh to a couple colleges

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before Manor. Um I went to tech school uh for a year at Lincoln Tech. Um that's how I landed my job originally. Um so I was working before I ended up going to Manor. >> Gotcha. Gotcha. Okay. Okay. So, you've had some other higher education experiences before Manor. Um, but definitely, you know, being a Manor student, it's a little different than going to Montco or going to Lincoln Tech. And you told me before that you were involved in some like campus activities. You like to

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go to the different events that they had. Um, how did Manor compare to your other higher ed experiences? What were some things that you got involved with and you kind of enjoyed like the campus life? Um, I liked uh that the college was a lot more uh closer of a community. Um, most of the events that I went to, it was either a couple of the soccer games. I had a couple friends that were on the soccer team would go to the some of the soccer games or in the cafeteria. Um, so a little background about that is as I

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was going to school, I was also working at the same time. So, uh, full-time schooling and full-time employment. Um, so I was actually working remote, so a good place to do that was the cafeteria, and they had a lot of events there. So, they had like bingo. Um, a table stands for um a a health organization. They came by and sampled out some uh healthy brownies. Um, so that was fun. We had a whole bunch of uh coloring activities. I didn't know I I liked coloring activities until I did a a coloring

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activity in the cafeteria there. And then you would see like all the nursing students, a couple more um IT students in the cafeteria. So um the all the people that were there, they all seemed to be friendly and we all got along. So um it was a very fun time. >> Oh, that's cool. And you're doing this all while you're remote working. So really multitasking right there. That's impressive. Um, it's always amazing to me, Ledny, when I see students who are working part-time,

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full-time, and going to school. I think that's so common for so many of our students to um to work while attending Manor and they find ways to do it. It's really, it shows such grit and resilience, but it's really impressive as well. So, major kudos to you for balancing that and just finding a way to get all that done because it's certainly not easy. Um, I want to talk a little bit about being a first generation college student and and what that what that was like for you to

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navigate um higher education and being the first in your family um first, you know, first-gen college student to earn earn a bachelor's degree and what does that mean for you and your whole family? Um, it means a whole lot. Um, my parents, they came from Haiti. Um, so of course they went through the high school system there. Um, but as they moved to America, they really, um, just wanted to hit the ground running working. Um, so they didn't really take the time to um, pursue a higher education. Um, so with

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me and my brothers, we really wanted to um make our parents proud proud for lack of better terms. So they were always high on education. Um, and I'm sure if they had the opportunity, they would have uh chose to excel as far as they wanted. So, um just really following the footsteps of my parents, um following their guidelines, uh it just gave me an opportunity to um really really work hard. Um cuz they also they import like what's the word that I'm trying to use here? >> Like imprinted on you.

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>> Yes. Those values. >> Yes. So they really imprinted on me uh the values of working hard and getting a higher education. Yeah. Oh, that's great. Well, they'll definitely have to take a listen to this episode with you and um be proud parents because obviously they did a great job. That's really special to hear and I think I think that really resonates with a lot of our students and alumni, you know. Um so many of our students, the stat in the last few years has been

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around 65% of Manor College students are first-gen college students. So, um, that's definitely a demographic that we see coming >> to study at Manor, um, who have very similar stories. So, I think that's going to really hit home and resonate with a lot of our students today. And it's just so so cool to hear that students are not shying away from higher ed. They're they want to um get the skills, get the education to then go do something in the world with that while also making their their families so

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proud. Um, that's really neat to hear. So, let's talk about it a little bit. Um, what made you want to study computer and information systems? What about it, um, gets you passionate and excited and what kind of about this industry, um, makes you want to, you know, have a job in it? >> Yeah. So um starting out um go going into my career um I always loved mathematics. Even in high school I I loved mathematics. Um I uh growing up I always wanted to create. I always wanted to um build something. Um I had I

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did play a lot of video games growing up. So, of course, like setting up uh the different systems you have to connect it to the TV. Um use I used the computer like pretty much all day growing up uh going through high school. Uh computers was just a big part of my life. Uh so I thought it was only fitting for me to pursue something that had to do with computers. Um, and then as I was getting into college, um, I learned a lot of programming. Um, which also helped me with the Manor classes. Um, learned a lot of programming. I got into

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game development a lot. Um, I actually, uh, had an opportunity to place an app on the app store. Um, so that came out of that, I guess. Um, so it's, yeah, um, >> felt like a natural fit. It sounds like it was just kind of always a passion of yours, always something that you were doing like recreationally and now you get to do it professionally. So, let's hear about more about this app. What is the app still in the app store? What app did you did you create it? Tell me more about that.

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>> Um, so the app is no longer on the app store, unfortunately. Um, it was just a little 2D runner uh Mario type game. Um, I I still have it on my um gaming website. Um, so it is it's called JB Nimble. If you Google it, you might be able to see my uh gaming website. Um, it's just a little guy. His name's Jason. He runs around um going from world to world. Uh jumping from world to world. Um, and then he's an explorer. He travels. Um, so you just become Jason and you take on his

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adventure as he goes on his way. Um, that's a very Mario-like platformer type game. >> Cool. That sounds really neat. Wow. Um, well, that that sounds like a cool thing to just put together even if it's not on the app store anymore. That's really neat. Um, that's awesome. So, let's talk a little bit about Manor College faculty. Were there any faculty or staff who you felt like really um gave you great advice or taught you good lessons that you can still carry with you? I mean, you're a young alum. You

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just graduated three years ago, but anything that really stands out in your mind that um you want to kind of give a shout out to? >> Yes. Um I would like to give a shout out to Professor Landis. Um he had uh he taught my English class here at Manor. Um he just really inspired me to um be creative. He really inspired me to um to basically go on adventures. I know he likes to uh hike and walk around a lot. Um and on top of that, it made me excited to read books. Um, I wasn't besides like anything

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besides the Bible, besides like computer books. I didn't really read a lot of um novels or anything like that or um self-improvement books. Um so he really inspired me to um just continue reading um as life goes like no matter how old you are, you could still read. So um just a big inspiration there. Um, Professor Sweeney, of course, she pretty much taught like the majority of my computer classes. Um, her instructions were very um straightforward. Um, very very clear instructions on um how to perform

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different programs. Um, so of course even um though I had a background in programming um I was still able to learn more. So, um she just really inspired me to gain more experience um to be more proficient in u whether it's programming or um troubleshooting anything. She just really made me challenged me to be more efficient in what I was doing which translated to me um performing better at my job. Um it also provided me the opportunity at my job to um to get in a position to do some software

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development within the company. Um so I was actually able to um create some forms within our um our program and uh it was just an exciting opportunity that wouldn't have happened if that was the case. Um >> that's great. >> So >> that's awesome. And I I'd also you know talk about you know so you work in IT help desk support. So can you kind of share with us like what does a day in the life look like for you and then also what is the most common um support

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ticket that you are you are answering. >> I always say the first thing is to tell people to restart their computers. It's always helpful to get those updates out there. >> Such a classic IT move right there. >> Yes. Yes. >> As a as a nonIT person. Yes. Okay. >> It's interesting that always goes a long way. Um just understanding the simple things that people just might miss. Um starting there. Um I always say with a help that support, it's almost like finding clues

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to to solve the the puzzle. Um the a day in the life um as a help that support technician. Um, I'm either setting up computers for new employees. Um, or I'm troubleshooting some software or uh hardware um problems. Maybe there's a networking problem that comes up. Um, troubleshooting that problem. So, a lot of troubleshooting. Um, and then if >> Yeah, go ahead. I have another good question though. Go ahead. If that doesn't work, then we raise it to the next tier to to find the proper solution

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in a proper timing for um for our employees. >> Yeah, we had another young alumni on the show. His name is Kareem Haynes um last season and I asked him this question. I'm going to ask you the same question. Um, and I'm curious how your answers will compare, but what's like a myth or something that people assume about IT folks and help desk support people, but it's really not true. Um I think well I don't know if this is the case but um I think they might think that we're not

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like since their particular issue um is out. So like let's say if someone has a computer issue and it's taking a long time for the issue to come up. For example, I I literally I just had someone um whose docking station was not working. Um it was a port issue this morning. Um, so >> but their issue is not the only issue that's going on. So I I also have other issues on top of that that I have to handle. A Outlook uh email issue that I have to handle as well. Um so all those things they just take a lot of time

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because my favorite question is oh how long is this going to take to fix? >> Right? So people assume that you are single, you know, single-mindedly focusing on one thing and really you're back there juggling, you know, all these different things. >> Absolutely. >> You're you're out there juggling uh multiple issues, which is fine. Um as long as you tackle each one at a time, but at the same time, you still have those is new issues always come up every day. So >> absolutely.

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You know, I often think about it people and I think like it they fix computers, but really it is what kind of um our other alumni Kareem who works who works in IT and actually he's an alum and he works here at the college but he he said it's more about helping people and that it you need to be prepared for customer service. Um because it's not just like I'm talking IT lingo all day. you're helping people and you're oftentimes teaching >> nonIT people things. Um, how do you how

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did you feel that you were prepared for like the customer service side and like the people skills of your role? >> Yes, absolutely. In a health that support um position um sometimes the issue doesn't um get fixed right away. So, um, in order for, uh, temperaments to not go up, you really have to have, uh, people skills, great communication skills, um, just to appease the situation. Cuz, of course, if you're not call you're not calling it just to say, "Oh, hey, how's it going?" You you're calling

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it cuz you have a problem. >> So, um, you really have to be able to communicate the situation. Um, I've pretty much built a relationship since I I've been at my company for a while. I uh built a relationship with the employees there. Um, which really relationships is a big part of the IT department, but just a big part of um your career in general. Um, so even um I just started an e-commerce business. Um, even with that, the big a huge thing is your network. um being connected with

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someone, communication, um and really building relationships is very very huge. Um even when I first found my job, um I ended up finding my job at Navmar because someone that I was connected with already had a position there. Um, so it was just of course I had to understand the skills, I had to know the skills, but it was very helpful to be connected with uh someone that was already at the company. Um, so it's just very beneficial. >> Oh yeah, relationships are are huge obviously and relationships are a great

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place for to start building them when you're in college. You know, start with your professors, start with your students who um you know, your friends and your classmates. another huge, you know, friend them on LinkedIn. Follow their careers because you just never know where paths might cross or align. Um, that's really good advice. All right, Lenny. So, final question here. Um, what advice would you give um Manor College students who maybe they're in a CIS program and they're

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they're looking to to maybe be where you are soon? um what advice would you share with them kind of being a person who's been there, done that, and now kind of on the other side of things? Yeah. So, uh my advice, uh being a student, um really learn as much as you can, of course, um making sure you're organized, prioritizing, um prioritizing correctly, making sure you have the most important things um handled um that you need cuz life's just going to get busy. Um especially if if

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you're trying to uh handle multiple things at once. um me being a student and a and a worker at the same time, uh trying to juggle that. It's tricky if you're not um organizing yourself. Um making sure you're prioritizing things. Um and as we mentioned before, uh really really building up your communication skills. Um building your uh relationships uh cuz it just goes a long way. um being connected um really being involved. Uh it'll help you be productive uh the more involved you you

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get. Um cuz if there's no activity in what you're doing, um you're you might digress really, but you always want to be constantly growing. You always want to be constantly progressing um whether it's your career or in life. Um, so >> yeah, no, definitely that's great. Be involved, always keep learning. Um, and kind of use your college days to enjoy yourself, but also like start, you know, being proactive in your career because it starts then. These aren't just, you know, free kind of free past

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years for you just to kind of goof off. Take it seriously because it's only going to pay off in the end. That's great advice. Thank you so much. Thank you, Lenny, for being with us today. It's been really a pleasure and joy to talk to you and um we hope our Blue Jays listening found it encouraging and informing as well. So, wishing you all the best. >> All right. Thank you very much. Thanks for having me. >> Thank you for tuning in today. If you like what you heard, listen and

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subscribe on Spotify or YouTube. Stay up to date with all new episodes by following Manor College on Instagram, Manor College. And that's a wrap on another episode of The Nest Stories about life after Manor College. Remember Blue Jays, you belong here always.