February 5, 2002
For Immediate Release
Contact: Holly Brooker
(845) 255-1450 xt.1301 Ulster BOCES Instructor Challenges Traditional Roles for Women

They say it's hard to be a woman in a man's world. LaDréa DeArrys doesn't think so. She's the new Local Area Network instructor in the Information Technology Program for the Ulster BOCES Adult Career Education Center. In a field typically dominated by men, she excels.

"I love the challenge," claims DeArrys.

In a recent study completed by the Information Technology Workforce Data Project, an average of 73% of those employed in the Information Technology (IT) field are men, compared to a little more than half in the entire civilian labor force.

DeArrys has earned several specialized certifications over her 17 years of computer networking experience and education, including Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT), Microsoft Certified System Engineer (MCSE+Internet, MCSE-5, MCSE-4), and Master Certified Novell Engineer (CNE) Netware 5.X, Netware 4.X, and Netware 3.X to name just a few. This fall she embarked on a new challenge and started her own computer consultant agency, Hudson Valley Computer Support Specialists, based in Poughkeepsie.

"I'd love to see it expand and grow as a Fortune 500 company," DeArrys says.

Has the gender-divide been noticed by DeArrys? "It seems the higher you go in this field, the fewer women there are." That's something she'd like to see change. Though she is currently teaching a LAN class with seven men in it, she has seen her previous classes split among men and women.

"There's nothing about this field that a woman couldn't do," explains Liz Hayter, assistant director for the Ulster BOCES Adult Career Education Center. "But it has really become a non-traditional role for women."

Ulster BOCES offers several Information Technology courses at its state-of-the-art satellite training facility in Lake Katrine, including Pre-Local Area Network (LAN), LAN, Introduction to Programming, Introduction to Programming with C++, Advanced Programming with C++, and Help Desk Professional.

If you would like more information about courses offered by Ulster BOCES, please call 331-5050 or click here.