It has already been a busy year of graduations at Per Scholas, with multiple graduations from IT Support, AWS re/Start, Cybersecurity, and Software Engineering courses coming to a close and many more coming up. As we look to train 4,000 learners in 2022, we are well on our way with astonishing numbers from our skilled and qualified graduates. So far, Per Scholas has graduated more than 250 learners, with over 150 graduates acquiring tech certifications.  

“The tenacity and commitment of Per Scholas learners is inspiring, and I’m thrilled for our graduates as they embark on transformational tech careers,” said Jasmine Miller, who was recently promoted to Per Scholas’s Chief Training Officer. 

Notably, our remote training cohorts had learners from New York, Cincinnati, Denver, Greater Boston, and the National Capital Region successfully graduate from our AWS re/Start course. Chubb Executive Vice President and Digital Transformation Officer Julie Dillman joined as graduation speaker.  This graduating cohort hosted over 70 graduates with an average certification rate of over 94%!  

Additionally, we graduated our first two cohorts as part of our satellite partnership.  With over 30 graduates from our innovative satellite training program, we are well on our way to training  1,000 New Yorkers this year.  In this partnership, Per Scholas is teaming up with Commonpoint Queens and with the JCC of Staten Island as Satellite partners in order to offer these trainings in Queens and Staten Island respectively. Commonpoint Queens hosted the course at its Elmhurst Employment Hub and JCC of Staten Island at its Bernikow Headquarters.  

In another Remote Training graduation, with learners from our National Capital Region, Denver, New York, Boston, Cincinnati, and North Carolina campuses, over 100 graduates completed their IT Support training to launch their thriving tech careers. Eugene Jones, Director of ITS at Comcast, spoke as a keynote speaker, encouraging graduates to always keep learning – in tech and in life. 

With support from our funders, brilliant and empowering Instructors, and a strong Learner Support Team, our learners are sure to excel in their next endeavors as they launch their IT careers.  We are eager to see how the year continues on with such a successful start as we connect individuals who have a passion for technology with thriving technology careers. 

Per Scholas Greater Boston alumni, Ana Rodriguez, was featured in Insider‘s article showcasing Amazon Web Services (AWS) and how they will train 29 million individuals to be cloud experts.  Per Scholas currently trains individuals to be AWS certified with tuition-free training, just as Ana accomplished.

Ana started the AWS re/Start training and quickly learned it would be challenging, but worth it. “It was very fast-paced for five months, and in five months we had to prepare for the AWS test, which is not an entry-level certification,” she noted.

We are excited to continue to offer our AWS re/Start course to train individuals to be certified cloud practitioners.

When it came to her career and future, Sara Pena might not have seemed like she would ever pursue a career in software development.  However, after the pandemic hit, Sara knew she had to make a career change that would not be impacted.  With her skills learned from Per Scholas Greater Boston and the inaugural Software Development cohort, funded in part thanks to our champion partner, Salesforce, Sara was able to change the trajectory of her career in a matter of a few short months.  

With a music background and time spent in school at Berklee College of Music, Sara began her career in sales at Bose.  After a few years there, she started working for a music software company that exposed her to technology and piqued her interest in the IT world.  Fast forward to a few years ago and Sara became a manager at a nonprofit coffee house, a position that fulfilled her passion for helping others and bringing the Boston community together.  Once COVID-19 hit, she knew she had to reassess her employment and find a career that could withstand such an event.  A friend mentioned she should look into coding, something Sara had once mentioned in passing her interest, so she began researching different boot camps.  There, she came across Per Scholas and knew she had to apply.  With no income, losing her job, and an insurmountable amount of student loans, it was time to take control of her career and pivot to technology.  On finding Per Scholas, Sara mentioned, “I came across Per Scholas and I read up on their mission and their offerings and I thought like anyone else, this can’t be real.”  

During her admissions process, Sara found the Per Scholas team to be supportive and pushing her to better herself.  She remembered a moment from her admissions interview that surprised herself as she said, “I’m going to pursue this with my whole heart. I am passionate about technology. I know if I don’t get this opportunity with Per Scholas, I am going to make something of it no matter what.” That inspiration propelled her throughout her training, even when she felt moments of doubt. Sara noted that the training was difficult and at times she considered quitting, but she always came back to the idea that, “even moments, where I thought, ‘I can’t, I don’t think this is for me, it’s just too much, it’s too hard, it’s overwhelming, am I ever going to get through this?’ and you know I think part of it was just that I remembered in my heart of hearts, this is what I wanted to do and this opportunity was given to me.  It was something that I didn’t want to put to waste.”  She didn’t put her training to waste at all as she started interviewing for a job post-graduation.  

Sara interviewed with her current employer and knew she was on the right path.  She felt a sense of community, something she found standard with software developers and at Per Scholas, and that the team she interviewed with was helpful and encouraging.  She found that her learner mindset led her to this opportunity where she got the job as a Software Developer.  Now, she attributes her experience at Per Scholas to why she was able to succeed. “You can teach someone how to code, but you cannot teach passion or drive, and that is what my Per Scholas colleagues and I have.” 

Sara was able to graduate from Per Scholas Greater Boston and pursue a career in technology with a thriving wage with her software developer knowledge.  Our software engineering training is provided to our learners free of charge in partnership with Salesforce and a generous grant from them.  Thanks to their grant, many of our learners are able to make a career change in technology like Sara Pena.