Hi, my name is Chester Frazier.
I was born with the umbilical cord wrapped around my neck, providing a lack of oxygen to my brain and causing a disability known as cerebral palsy. I share this because to understand my career, you need to understand what started it.
Cerebral palsy caused difficulties with my handwriting. As a solution, my first-grade teacher decided that it would be best for me to use a computer to type. That was the first interaction I had with a computer. Little did Ms. Edwards know that single gesture would jumpstart my career.
As a kid, I would tinker with whatever computer I had in front of me. This usually resulted in the need for someone with expertise to come in to fix something. By the time I graduated middle school, I had learned just enough to fix some very basic problems that my fellow students and their parents had with their home computers.
My freshman year in high school, I took an after school job as an English tutor twice a week. One day while working I spotted my school’s network administrator in the library. I approached him and shared my interest in computers, and offered to work for him after school for free just to learn. He agreed. Within a year he hired me. By the end of high school, I was still working for him, working part time at Taft College, and consulting for another school district in my free time.
Then it came time for me to go to college. I attend California State University, Bakersfield to study Computer Science. My first year, I was hired by the IT faculty helpdesk. In my second year, my helpdesk job was augmented to consulting with the Career Development Center on campus to implement their new online career system, RunnerLink. Once that system was implemented, I began consulting with other departments on campus such as Student Life, the Housing Department, and others. Eventually, I was hired by the Vice President of Student Affairs as a consultant for the whole division.
While still a student, I attended a job fair on campus and came across a small local business. The business owner spoke with me about issues they were having with their IT systems. At 19 I filed for my first business, Definition Systems, so I could support that one business.
I spent the next decade of my life managing and growing Definition Systems which later become Frazier Industries, LLC. During my tenure as the owner of this business, I worked with small businesses, non-profits, and educational institutions. Some of my professional endeavors include: developing better IT strategies, developing and maintain databases to improve workflows, implementing cost-saving VOIP solutions.