12/12/23

By University Communications

HAYS, Kan. - Although Jarrett Smolarkiewicz will graduate on Dec. 15 with a B.S. in Information Networking and Telecommunications, it's his unique person-to-person networking ability that truly sets him apart. Through his classes at Fort Hays State University and his relationships with people and businesses in Hays, Jarrett continually makes it a priority to "invest in people" in his daily life.

Jarrett began his college career in 2000 at Kellogg Community College in his home state of Michigan. After a move to Virginia Beach, Jarrett and his wife, Misty, relocated to Hays in 2007 to be closer to Misty's family, who live in Nebraska.

Jarrett's career path in Hays has taken him from entry-level positions at NEW, HaysMed, and Nex-Tech Wireless. His interest in technology led him to teach himself various skills, such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP, and SQL.

"We came here (Hays), and I fell in love with the people," Jarrett said. "We don't have any family in town, but we've found tons of people from our church (Celebration Community Church) who are like family. It's a home away from home."

Jarrett was working at Nex-Tech Wireless as a customer service representative when he decided to return to FHSU. He had investigated the possibility of doing a coding boot camp, with a goal of becoming an entry-level full stack software developer, but found the $12,000-18,000 price tag, which didn't include a degree, an option he didn't relish.

"I was looking at opportunities to advance, and I wasn't getting anywhere," he said. "It was frustrating. I wasn't totally open to the idea (of completing a degree at FHSU). But it was an opportunity to provide for my family."

In searching for positions as a software developer, Jarrett had found that 75 percent of job opportunities required a bachelor's degree, and with today’s AI screening tools, many applications online now require checking a box to confirm the applicant has a degree.

“If you cannot honestly check that box,” Jarrett said. “It doesn’t matter how great your portfolio is or how good of a developer you are; your application won’t even be considered. Thus, the Fort Hays option was the best route.”

Jarrett, who had stopped out of Fort Hays classes in 2012 due to a family member's serious health concerns, returned to FHSU in the summer of 2019 to take online courses. By living in Hays, Jarrett could meet locally with instructors as needed but complete coursework online, working around his busy family schedule. His family grew in 2020 when Jarrett and Misty added another member, Xayden, to their family of two boys, Ajoni and Kiros.

Just as he entered his final FHSU semester, on Sept. 29, Nex-Tech hired Jarrett as a technical training specialist, a position that enables him to train and help others grow in their own skills.

"It all came full circle," Jarrett said. "Right now, I'm learning Salesforce, which is one of the key industry implementation platforms for companies big and small."

Jarrett credits several FHSU faculty members with helping him find success in the classroom and beyond. He pointed out that Jason Zeller, assistant professor of informatics, is more than simply knowledgeable in his academic area; he is engaged and dedicated to serving the needs of students. Amie Wright, instructor of informatics, has encouraged Jarrett to strive in ways that set him apart from others. In addition, he said Dave Gray, instructor of informatics, "is the hardest instructor I have had here, but he gives students the support they need. He loves teaching, and it shows."

Gray said he encourages all his students to continue progressing despite obstacles.

"I always tell my students to choose progress over perfection," Gray said. "Computers expect us to be perfect when we write code. One small syntax error can throw everything off, but we shouldn't expect that of ourselves."

"We all make mistakes. To find the small errors, we sometimes need to take a small break and come back with fresh eyes. In the overall scheme of things, we're learning concepts, and we're making progress if we learn just a little more each day."

For Jarrett, the journey to graduation has been a long one, taxing on his family life, health, and sleep, but filled with discoveries each day. After graduation, he hopes to spend more time with his family and reach out to help people in the community.

"I really have a heart to build people up," Jarrett said. "The mentoring, the investment that people have made in me, I want to give that back. I don't want to be just a technical trainer. I want to invest in people because so many people have invested in me."