Carlos Sacerio was used to working every available angle to get ahead. For example, after graduating high school, he cold-called businesses, offering to repair landscaping and construction equipment to make money and using the award-winning welding skills he learned at Vernon Malone College & Career Academy as a way to get in the door.

"I definitely consider myself a hustler," Sacerio said.

But a desire for something more in life led him to Wake Tech.

"I come from a a background of blue-collar folks," he said, noting his family members have worked in the construction, HVAC and electrical trades. "Learning a skilled trade is a great way to make money, but I want to make more of an impact."

Sacerio did complete a Welding Technology degree at Wake Tech – he considers Program Director Russell Wahrman to be "like an uncle to me" – but he focused his energy on earning an Associate in Arts degree so he could transfer to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Given his go-getter personality and background as a member of the North Carolina Army National Guard, he doesn't lack confidence. But he says that, as a first-generation college student, he wasn't always sure of himself on campus. Extracurriculars at Wake Tech really opened up new avenues for him, he says.

"You have to take opportunities that feel uncomfortable, even impossible," he said.

Sacerio was invited to join both Phi Theta Kappa (PTK), the national honor society for two-year colleges, and Sigma Delta Mu, the national Spanish honor society for two-year colleges, and he served as vice president and acting president of PTK. On his own time, he tutored students in Spanish and English at Vernon Malone and South Garner High School after building a following on Instagram, calling helping others learn Spanish his "passion project."

"Carlos is energetic and eager to be involved, bringing integrity and character to any team that he's on," said PTK advisor James Wils, an associate professor of History. "He often took the lead on various moving parts within the organization and the student scholarship in which PTK engages."

Sacerio presented his research into how students from different backgrounds deal with adversity at a national PTK conference in Missouri. He says that made him want to do more social science research, such as his projects at UNC-Chapel Hill on equity of access in higher education.

"I like being an education activist," he said, noting he's working to make transferring credits across UNC System schools easier for active-duty service members and veterans and tries to help first-generation and low-income students get into a college.

He wants to change people's perceptions of community colleges, calling the stigma that they're for people who weren't accepted into a four-year university unwarranted. He says he chose to attend Wake Tech because it was affordable and close to home.

"I like the term 'community college' because it really is a community," he said. "People from all walks of life are there trying to improve themselves, and you can make lifelong friends."