The motivational Robert Herjavec went to Reading Area Community College (RACC) and gave a speech to the students, faculty, and professionals that made a simple but powerful point: you don’t need an Ivy League education or the newest technology to live a great life. You only need the skills and determination to start!
A Star Investor Comes to Campus
Robert Herjavec, a famous businessman, investor, and TV personality, met and talked with people while they were at Reading Area Community College. He went to an event put on by the school to celebrate the Schmidt Training and Technology Center at Reading Area Community College opening 20 years ago.
This milestone was not only significant for the institution itself but was also quite significant for the whole Reading area community, considering the history of manufacturing training at this place. Celebrating 20 Years of Innovation and the Future of Manufacturing – Join Us! Together with Robert Herjavec at Reading Area Community College.
Herjavec’s Message: Skills Over Degrees
At the heart of Herjavec’s address was a refreshingly grounded message that pushed back against the idea that only elite academic pedigrees lead to success.
“You know, everybody today thinks you need AI and fancy degrees and all of this stuff,” he said. “My dad was a blue-collar maintenance mechanic, and this is all very familiar to me. You can make a great life learning very mechanical, tactical skills.”
This message really struck home when put into the context of what RACC stands for. The Schmidt Training & Technology Center offers training in senior leadership, manufacturing technology, information technology, workforce readiness, and workforce literacy — precisely the sort of practical, employer-oriented learning that Herjavec advocated.
“I love speaking to students. I love speaking to faculty. I love seeing environments like this,” Herjavec said. His warmth for the community college setting was evident — and clearly personal, rooted in his own working-class origins.
From Immigrant to Investor: Herjavec’s Story
Robert Herjavec is one of those rare businessmen who has such an interesting biography. Robert Herjavec’s biography starts from the point that no other businessman’s biography begins from — he came to Canada at the age of eight as a refugee from Croatia, the whole life of the family having been crammed into one bag.
While working for twenty-two years at one factory, his father never earned more than $76 weekly. When Robert and his family fled from Communist Yugoslavia to Canada, they were living in a basement apartment for eighteen months.
Still, Herjavec built a business empire from these small starts. One of the fastest-growing tech companies in North America, Herjavec Group, was started by him and grew very quickly. With safe operations centers in Canada, the US, the UK, and India, the company is now a world leader in cybersecurity and goes by the name Cyderes. It specializes in managed security services.
That’s the kind of story that makes his visit to RACC so important for students who may feel like the odds are against them: he went from waiting tables and carrying newspapers to being on national TV as one of the most famous investor-entrepreneurs in North America.
The Schmidt Training and Technology Center: 20 Years of Impact
The event was anchored in a genuine celebration of RACC’s workforce training legacy. The school says the Schmidt Training and Technology Center offers training programs that are customized to meet employers’ changing needs.
Sponsored by Berks County, the college provides affordable access to meet identified community educational needs. Students from every age, race, religion, and many different countries throughout the world choose to study here, pursuing degrees in nursing, criminal justice, business, or certifications in fields like dental assisting, home health aide, and information technology.
The center’s 20-year milestone is a testament to how community colleges can serve as economic engines, bridging the gap between what local employers need and what students can achieve with focused, practical education.
Herjavec’s Broader Entrepreneurial Platform
Herjavec is still one of the most involved people in business and cybersecurity, not just on college campuses. He talks about how to refuse to settle for good enough when everyone else is, how to take calculated risks when staying safe is always easier, and how to build the mental toughness you need to get back up after mistakes that would stop most people for good.
Robert Herjavec recently became a celebrity judge for CrowdStrike’s Cybersecurity Startup Accelerator with AWS and NVIDIA at RSAC 2026. He said that the companies that were competing were “the future of how cybersecurity is delivered.”
Why This Visit Matters
Today, students are told to get into top universities or learn how to use the newest AI tools. Herjavec’s visit to RACC was a rare reminder that practical skills, hard work, and being willing to start, no matter where you start, are still the best ways to get ahead.
His message serves as a warning that not only can people in Silicon Valley be entrepreneurs. A Reading, Pennsylvania, community college hallway is one place where it can start.
