Miguel Pacheco is a Harvard graduate with many years of experience in the workforce development space. But his journey hasn’t been easy and it’s one of the reasons he’s passionate about working to help students improve their circumstances. He currently serves as the Director of New Community Career & Technical Institute (NCCTI), a role he started in August.

Pacheco was born in Peru and came to the United States as a child, settling in Brooklyn, N.Y. He dropped out of high school and was unsuccessful in passing the GED exam to earn a high school diploma. He landed a job working at a hospital in a union that provided a pathway to get a high school diploma called the National External Diploma Program. That program allows individuals to complete a portfolio of life skills and academic tasks to receive their diploma.

“Through that experience, I learned the importance of workforce programs and trades programs,” Pacheco said. “Placing people in jobs and seeking short-term training so that you can work.”

Pacheco attended a few colleges but did not complete a degree. While enrolled at Pace University, he got a temporary job in the mail room at a corporate company in New York City. At the end of three months, Pacheco was offered a full-time position in the company’s IT department working on the help desk.

“I took the role without knowing how to type. I took the role without knowing what a hard drive is or what a monitor is or how to take a PC apart,” Pacheco said. “By God’s grace, I learned on the job.”

After learning a variety of skills, Pacheco left that company and opened his own business in Brooklyn, teaching people what he had learned in the area of IT. His work got noticed and he was offered a job at Opportunities for a Better Tomorrow, a nonprofit organization with a mission to break the cycle of poverty and inequity through education, job training and employment. He worked at the nonprofit for about 10 years, beginning as an instructor and eventually becoming a director. The City University of New York (CUNY) approached the nonprofit to make the education credit-based. The plan was to make Pacheco an adjunct professor so he could continue teaching the courses.

“I interviewed for that role, ready to go and then they said we just need to know where your credentials are. And I didn’t have them. So that was an eye-opener for me,” Pacheco said.

He left that organization and got a job as Director of CUNY TechWorks, whose mission is to connect underrepresented and low-income New Yorkers to opportunities in New York City’s tech sector via no-cost, applied skills education and training.

His boss there was a Harvard University graduate and he started watching the TV show Suits about lawyers who went to Harvard. One day he looked up the school and found out he could obtain a certification through the Harvard Business School. After some hesitation, he applied for the program and was accepted.

At the same time, his oldest son started attending Middlesex College. His wife encouraged him to take some courses, which he did. He decided to quit his job to focus on his education since he was earning his associate’s degree at Middlesex College and taking the Harvard Business School certification course. During that time, he drove for Uber as a source of income.

Pacheco graduated from Middlesex College with his son and completed the Harvard certification course. He then learned that he could earn a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University if he proved himself with two courses. He moved to Massachusetts, enrolled in Harvard and graduated with his bachelor’s degree.

“It was a huge achievement,” he said.

His educational journey is a big part of why he has chosen his line of work.

“To me, that’s sort of my commitment. That may be why Harvard accepted me because with me it was always about if I’m going to get this, I want to go back to my community and I want to change it. So that’s what I’m doing,” he said.

Pacheco’s favorite part of his job is helping people succeed.

“Seeing people’s lives changing is rewarding,” he said. “Whether it be passing an exam or getting a job. Just celebrating with them. These little stepping stones of success are also our success here.”

New Community Director of Mission Frances Teabout is excited to have Pacheco on the NCCTI team.

“Miguel is a great addition to the NCC family. He brings a wealth of experience and knowledge that will strengthen our current services and expand our program offerings,” she said. “He is forward thinking with experience in technical career training.”