Professional Background
IT Experience
20+ years as sole IT administrator at Maverick Petroleum — full network infrastructure, cybersecurity, VoIP, MDM, and GIS systems. Every decision, every outage, every upgrade: one person responsible for all of it.
Technical Stack
Ubiquiti UniFi · VLANs · Active Directory · ArcGIS Pro · Power Automate · TrueNAS · Vaultwarden · pfSense · Unraid · VMware
Why Teaching
The cybersecurity workforce gap is real. 500,000+ unfilled positions nationally. This course is designed to put students on the path to filling them — with credentials, not just exposure.
Military Service
Branch & MOS
U.S. Army · Signal Corps · 31U
Communication Signal Support Systems Specialist. Responsible for installation, operation, and maintenance of communications systems in the field.
Communication Signal Support Systems Specialist. Responsible for installation, operation, and maintenance of communications systems in the field.
Deployment
Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) · Honorably discharged 2004
Connection to This Class
The Army taught me that communications infrastructure isn't just technical — it's mission-critical. That mindset carries directly into how I teach network security and incident response.
Mr. Ngo's Story — ArcGIS StoryMap
Built with ArcGIS Pro · GIS in action
An interactive map telling the full story — from a family of Vietnamese refugees arriving in Guam on November 23, 1973, through Roosevelt Elementary in Bakersfield, the U.S. Army Signal Corps in Kabul, and 20 years of enterprise IT. Built using the same ArcGIS tools taught in this course.
The CYZ-10 moment in Kabul — being issued a cryptographic key transfer device and told it was worth more than my life — was my first real lesson in information security. That experience sits at the foundation of everything taught in this course.
🗺 Open Story MapStory Highlights
1973
Family arrives in Guam as refugees
K–12
Roosevelt → Sandrini → Thompson → South High
2000
Enlists · Fort Benning · Fort Gordon
OEF
Kabul · CYZ-10 · cryptographic keys in the field
GTMO
JTF-160 · secure communications
2004
Honorable discharge · Bakersfield College → CSUB
2006
Maverick Petroleum — 20 years sole IT admin
Career Timeline
2000
Enlisted — U.S. Army Signal Corps
31U Communications Signal Support. Trained in field communications systems, network operations, and mission-critical infrastructure.
2001
Operation Enduring Freedom Deployment
Deployed in support of OEF. Maintained communications infrastructure in active theater operations.
2004
Honorably Discharged · Began IT Career
Joined Maverick Petroleum as sole IT administrator. Built and managed the company's entire network infrastructure from the ground up.
2006
BA Liberal Studies — CSUB
California State University, Bakersfield. Completed degree while working full-time in IT — reinforced the value of persistence and lifelong learning.
2017
Youth BJJ Coach — Trujitsu Bakersfield
BJJ black belt under Matt Baker at Trujitsu Bakersfield. Began coaching youth athletes — seven years of building trust, managing probing behavior, and developing grit in young competitors.
2024
Substitute Teacher — Kern County Districts
KHSD, Rosedale, and Norris districts. Built a strong reputation across schools as a high-quality sub with real technical expertise.
2025
Preliminary CTE Credential — LACOE
Information & Communication Technology pathway. Credential valid through 2029. Completes the formal qualification for CTE ICT/Cybersecurity instruction.
2026
CTE ICT & Cybersecurity Instructor
Bringing 20+ years of real-world IT and security experience directly into the classroom — not as theory, but as lived professional practice.
Teaching Philosophy
I teach the way I learned: by doing. Twenty years of solo enterprise IT means I've had to figure out real problems without a safety net. That experience — more than any textbook — is what I bring into this classroom. Every lesson is built around the question "what would you actually do if this happened at your job?"
Progressive Trust
From BJJ coaching — earn trust incrementally. Students who know why they're learning something work harder than students who are just following instructions.
Gradual Release
I do, we do, you do. Every skill is modeled explicitly before students are asked to perform it independently. No one is set up to fail.
Industry Alignment
Everything in this course maps to a real job skill. If I can't explain why something matters in a professional context, it doesn't belong in the curriculum.
Responsible AI Use
AI tools are part of how this industry works. Students learn to use them critically and responsibly — the same way a professional would.
Documentation Culture
In IT, if it isn't documented it didn't happen. Students write reports, explain their decisions, and defend their configurations — just like the real world.
Zero Barriers
No prior experience required, no judgment for asking basic questions. The field needs diverse talent — this classroom reflects that.
Beyond the Classroom
The same qualities that make a good IT professional — patience, persistence, and willingness to embrace discomfort — show up everywhere outside the classroom too.
BJJ Black Belt
Black belt under Matt Baker at Trujitsu Bakersfield. Seven years coaching youth athletes. The mat teaches the same lessons as the lab: discipline, failure as feedback, and showing up consistently.
Avid Fisherman
Favorite fishing is off a kayak in the ocean — nothing between you and the water. Currently learning fly fishing on the Kern River. Two very different disciplines, both require reading the environment and adapting in real time.
Endurance Runner
Ran 21 half marathons in a single year and completed a full marathon. Legacy runner in the Bakersfield Marathon. Proof that consistency over time beats talent every time — the same message this course delivers.
Contact & Office Hours
Email
[instructor@district.edu]
Room
TBD — check class schedule
Office Hours
By appointment — email to schedule
Response Time
Within 48 hours on school days
My Story
From Vietnamese refugee to Army Signal Corps to 20 years in enterprise IT — the full journey, mapped.
🗺 arcg.is/1iWDnX2 →