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Fauquier Times | www.fauquier.com | March 14, 2018
Adventuresome newlywed embarks on LFCC’s RN program Sophisticated and bilingual, Jacob Borstad believes getting his registered nursing degree at Lord Fairfax Community College is a healthy decision, from a financial standpoint and from an academic standpoint. “I’m all about community colleges,” says the South American-raised Borstad. “I think they’re a great route to start your education because you save a lot of money while figuring out your own career path, not to mention I think the faculty have a lot more time for students than they Jacob Borstad would at a big university where they may have thousands of students.” He’s a long way away from his beginnings in Argentina where he was born to American missionaries. The family would often visit their home in Wisconsin, but Borstad lived primarily in Argenti-
na until he was 15. After completing high school in Wisconsin, Borstad attended community college for a year, but was unsure of his future career. He then went to a Bible college in Michigan, attaining an associate degree in biblical studies and meeting his future wife, who was from Winchester. The couple married in 2015, moving to Virginia. Borstad worked doing construction inspection for a year before enrolling in LFCC in fall 2016. He’s now in his second semester in the nationally-accredited registered nursing program. “I’ve always been interested in the healthcare field as a whole, but became particularly interested in nursing in the past few years,” Borstad explains. “That’s mostly because nursing is a practical degree that you can take anywhere, and I love interacting with people.” LFCC’s RN program’s reputation was a big draw for him, and it has a “really good price tag
attached to it,” he says. “I’m excited to be part of a program that sees so many of its graduates hired as nurses by Winchester Medical Center,” Borstad, who traveled with his wife on a long trip to Argentina this past summer, says. “That’s pretty cool.” He’s already done one clinical rotation at a longterm care facility, and classes are keeping him very busy. So far, his favorite course has been anatomy and physiology with Professor Ramon Selove. “I really enjoy his personality and how interactive he is,” Borstad says. “He’s super-animated, fun to listen to and to learn from. Not to mention, he’s a really smart guy.” And, Borstad is showing some smarts too by choosing his RN path. Not only is nursing a fulfilling and challenging career that is in high-demand, the average salary for an RN in Virginia in May 2016 was $72,180, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Former high-flying Dell executive brings IT know-how to LFCC Clarke County resident Ken Blackwell has a pretty impressive resume — he has founded a couple of tech companies, served as chief technical officer for Dell Software Group, is an industry speaker and is the co-founder and director of the Valley Human Trafficking Initiative. He has recently added adjunct professor at LFCC to Ken Blackwell his CV. Blackwell is now the co-owner and president of TeamLogic IT Leesburg Winchester, an IT managed services provider serving companies throughout the
tri-state region. He has been teaching IT at LFCC’s Middletown and Warrenton campuses for the past year. While visiting the college with his daughter, who is studying health information management at Lord Fairfax, Blackwell met several IT faculty members, as well as Karen Kellison, dean of business, education and technology. One thing led to another, and he became a faculty member. “I also use this as a recruiting method because I hire people that I teach,” Blackwell says. “I joke that my interview process is 16 weeks long with three written exams, and you’ve got to show up for work every week.” Blackwell’s impressive background includes 30 years in the IT
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field. In his role as chief technical officer for Dell Software, he was in charge of the technical strategy for the firm’s systems management product portfolio, which included data center and cloud management, data protection, and Windows server management. Additionally, he was part of the Internet of Things strategy workgroup. He oversaw about 3,500 employees at Dell in a job that took him all over the world. He cofounded Bristol Technology Inc., which was sold to HP in 2007. He also founded Kenosia Corp., which was sold to HALO Technology Holdings. Additionally, Blackwell previously worked at IBM and NCR Corp. Besides his daughter attending LFCC, he and his wife, Pam, have
three sons and two additional daughters. Their oldest child attended community college and went on to attain a master’s degree. Some of Blackwell’s students have advanced degrees and have returned to school to study IT. “Obviously, LFCC is a great value, that’s for sure,” he says. “It’s a great fit for my daughter. It’s the exact environment that she needs, and she is thriving here.” Blackwell and his wife are directors of the Valley Human Trafficking Initiative, a faith-based nonprofit combatting human trafficking in this area through awareness, advocacy and victim services. The couple are also specialized foster parents for heavily-traumatized and trafficked minors.
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