“I was someone who had a lot of things against them. There were a lot of things I had to overcome while I was at Per Scholas but I didn’t let anything stop me. Per Scholas’ message is you can do anything. And it’s true. You can do anything.”

Nsia is smart; she’s tough. She’s a hard worker. She loves electronics. And, she’s taken all these attributes to launch her tech career at University of Maryland University College.

After high school, Nsia attended Grambling State University in Louisiana, pursuing a Bachelors in Engineering Technology. While at college, she became pregnant with a baby boy. Despite all the obstacles of having a newborn at home and her entire family in Maryland while going to school full time, Nsia completed her degree.

After college, however, the road to a career was not a smooth one. The tech field requires hands-on experience through internships. Because she had to work to provide for her son during college, Nsia didn’t have the time or resources to work at an unpaid internship position. She worked in a retail job for a year, but knew that it was not a job that would be able to support her long-term.

Nsia says she draws her strength from her mother, who moved to the States from Trinidad to raise her eight children. She knew no one when she arrived. Nsia says, “Although it was stressful, every time I thought of her I knew I could do it, too.”

After a year of job searching in Louisiana, Nsia moved back to Maryland to be closer with her family and to continue pursuing her career in tech. She says, “I don’t let anything stop me from getting me where I want to be.” Almost immediately after she was back in the National Capital Region, she found Per Scholas.

“I thought Per Scholas would be good. But, I didn’t know it was going to be this good,” she says. “When you hear ‘free,’ you don’t think you are going to get any perks. But, it was so different. It was a good different.”

At Per Scholas, Nsia really appreciated the help that the instructor provides to navigate through the challenging and dense technical material. She credits the career development portion of the training for helping her truly prepare for the workforce. “It really opened my eyes. It helped me become who I am today.”

Her best moment of the whole experience? The day before graduation, Nsia learned that she had passed her A+ certification exam. She was proud because she had passed on the first try and could immediately start looking for a job. “I knew that was the next step in my life.”

Now Nsia is working as a Technical Support Analyst at UMUC and saving up for a life with her boyfriend and son.

“My biggest accomplishment is getting into a great field while also taking care of my son. It’s all a blessing because I see how much I have achieved,” she says. “Anything is possible. Although it sounds cliche, once you put your mind to something, you can do it. No matter what anybody says, do it anyway.”

Chrystal takes the bus to work every day in the D.C. metro area. Friendly as can be, she has chats with her bus driver and one day her driver asked what she did for a living and with pride she said she works in IT at a college. The bus driver confessed that technology is what she wished she was doing. Chrystal let her know “You can. Just go to Per Scholas.” They exchanged numbers, Chrystal provided the info immediately and the bus driver — Kia — applied that night.

This meant a lot to Chrystal. She has always loved encouraging people to push themselves, including herself.

After high school Chrystal attended college to study sociology. She successfully completed three years when she became pregnant with her son, Eli, and had to put school on hold. Once Eli was born she tried to finish school and also took on a job at Starbucks to help pay for tuition and bills. Being a new mother, full-time student, and working became too much. She had to stop her classes.

During this time Chrystal shared a small apartment with her mother, three siblings, and her baby. She describes her room as a corner in a den. She confesses that it was a very rough time in her life. She wasn’t proud of herself and knew she wanted more for her son. She just didn’t know how to get there.

Then she learned about Per Scholas while attending a workshop at local nonprofit A Wider Circle. The opportunity for free IT job training was shared with the group and she felt it was the answer. Chrystal applied to the IT training that very day.

Exposed to all ranges of TV systems, sound systems, gaming systems as a child, the idea of working in IT got her excited and she was elated when Per Scholas accepted her.

“I didn’t have money for daycare for my son. I didn’t really even have money for transportation for myself. Some days I didn’t have lunch. But it was worth the risk. I just believed everything would fall into place and work out — that I needed to be open to this opportunity and take this risk.” Chrystal’s mother and grandmother, friends and neighbors were able to help with Eli. Her boyfriend worked two jobs and was supportive of Chrystal seeing this through.

Chrystal also found a strong community of support and camaraderie at Per Scholas among her classmates, the staff, and instructors.

“I loved class. I looked forward to getting up every day and going to class.” The passion of her IT Instructor was infectious. The learning environment was unlike any other she had experienced compared to high school and college. It was supportive and she was encouraged to speak up and ask questions. Everyone was there learning from the beginning together and they supported one another along the way.

Her classmates were like a family to her. They would host study groups at home, cook dinner for one another. They pushed each other.

This was especially helpful when Chrystal began her job search following graduation, a process that can be discouraging for any level of professional. Interview after interview, she felt she did great only to be told she didn’t get the job. Like a broken record they all said no due to lack of experience. “It was so discouraging. It was hard to not be disappointed. My classmates would keep rooting me on, though. Everyone at Per Scholas did. Bridgette [Managing Director] checked in on me all the time and Peyton [Associate Director of Business Solutions] sent me job opportunities constantly. It’s what kept me going.”

Then a funny thing happened. A recruiter called her and said the employer wanted to hire her — no interview process needed. It was a short-term contract and they would keep those they wanted after a two-week trial. Twelve technicians were on the project. “I was doing everything right on the job, but I didn’t expect to get the job.” Out of the 12, three were kept on long-term — and Chrystal was one of those three. She joined the Help Desk team at Strayer University.

“I’m great at my job! I take pride in what I do. Coming only with the basic skills Per Scholas gave me, it’s up to me to take the initiative to build on that, and I’ve done that. I ask questions. Beyond tier 1, I want to know everything. I surprised myself by the drive I have. I constantly want to learn and I am so happy and blessed that I get to continue learning.”

Chrystal is excited to be an ambassador for Per Scholas and encourage others like her bus driver Kia that you can change your life. She is naturally drawn to encourage people, no matter who, to never give up on themselves, to believe they can overcome and achieve whatever it may be so long as they are open to it and make the effort.

“I have a job. I have a nice apartment. My son is smart, and I get to nurture that. I have resources and a stable work schedule that allow me to be there for him and support his growth.” Chrystal is beaming. “I was depressed and lost. And look at me now!”

Bridgette Gray, Managing Director of Per Scholas National Capital Region (NCR), is appointed to the Montgomery County Workforce Investment Board in the position of a Community-Based Organ

ization by the County Executive, Isiah Leggett. Bridgette will serve on two of 7 committees, Policy and Legislative Task Force and Program Planning Committee.

The Workforce Investment Board (WIB) aims to help businesses in Montgomery County succeed through increasing the awareness of workforce development issues and strengthening the County’s workforce development system by developing partnerships with business, government and community-based organizations. These partnerships enable many diverse county groups to share a vision of progress and to work together in a focused and unified fashion. Montgomery County of Maryland is the largest county of the Greater Washington area with a large number of federal employers and employees. Montgomery County is home to 18 federal agencies and installations, such as NIH, FDA, NIST and NRC.

In her role on the Policy and Legislative Task Force, she will be responsible for using the adopted Policy Framework to make decisions on how to provide information and be an advocate on workforce development issues at the local, state, and national level. As a member of the Program Planning Committee, she will be focused on alignment of program development across the workforce system as well as strategic alliances between economic development and education.

“I am honored to be appointed to the WIB in Montgomery County. I’ve spent over twenty years working at the grassroots level of workforce development, something I absolutely love,” Bridgette says. “It is a great responsibility to now be tasked with working on the policy side of workforce issues and opportunities, as well as determining effective and relevant training for Montgomery County residents and a strong talent pipeline for Montgomery County existing and new businesses.”

Before coming to Per Scholas, Bridgette spent more than 20 years helping people meet and retain training and employment opportunities. She has led workforce development initiatives in the National Capital Region for several years, first as the Deputy Director for Year Up, an academic and professional development organization for young adults; and next as the Executive Director for Career Team, an organization that provides training, case management and job placement services for the District’s most hard-to-serve residents.

With 65% of Per Scholas’ training participants from the State of Maryland and 35% from Montgomery County, Per Scholas has, in less than a year, added to the economic development in Montgomery County as well as the State of Maryland.

Under Bridgette’s leadership as Managing Director of Per Scholas National Capital Region, in eight months 66 people have been trained for entry-level careers in technology, 76% of whom are already employed with an average starting salary of $39,000/year. The average pre-training income for these individuals is $7,000/year. The site will train 80 more individuals this year. In the fall of 2014, Per Scholas NCR led and convened a regional taskforce to address talent pipeline for the 23,000+ cybersecurity jobs available in the region. The taskforce will help to develop the curriculum and network of resources for an advance career-track course in cybersecurity to be offered to Per Scholas alumni.

“Per Scholas aims to identify talented individuals to lead our organization through its expansion and beyond,” says Plinio Ayala, President and CEO of Per Scholas. “The talent that Bridgette Gray brings to Per Scholas is incredible. She is an expert in her field, and we value her experience and knowledge. We congratulate her on this huge achievement.”

Per Scholas National Capital Region and its local board members, Jason Green, Co-founder,SkillSmart and Charles Britt, Director STEM Education, NVCC and host partner Accenture, have convened a regional task force to focus on the regional challenges in creating a talent pipeline for the 23k+ open jobs in cyber security. With representation from workforce development, education, industry, policy makers and government, the Task Force will:

• Define and quantify job skills (i.e., determine specific skills and experiences required for cyber success)
• Develop Career pathways (i.e., demonstrate career progression opportunities in cyber)
• Establish a program clearinghouse (i.e., create toolkit to increase awareness of existing programs and resources)

The Task Force believes a good number of these open positions can be filled through skills based training and ladders of education. The Task Force is looking forward to engaging employers to determine the actual skills needed to fill these positions and validate the continual education needed to progress in cyber security careers.

In all of its markets, Per Scholas strives to meet the specific demands of regional employers through its specified IT training. It takes strong partnerships to make that happen. Per Scholas is currently working with Accenture and Ashoka on the Talent Growth Initiative to address the US Talent Gap and to identify innovations that can be scaled up for broad impact. As a result of the partnership, Accenture has been instrumental in researching internship opportunities for Per Scholas students and identifying employer opportunities for Per Scholas training tracks.

Overall, this initial meeting of the task force remained in line with the strong emphasis on the importance of all leaders working together as a team towards the creation of an evolved workforce.

This gathering grew out of a cyber security panel convened by Per Scholas in October of 2014, where a dynamic gathering of leaders from education, government, industry and workforce development evaluated and discussed the current cyber security landscape, the restrictions that cause the talent gap, alternatives for building a stronger pipeline, and considerations in creating a diverse pipeline of local talent to fill immediate and future need.

Additional info

The task force will meet face-to-face four times, with the last meeting in January of 2016. In between in person meetings, there will be four check in calls.

To learn more about how Per Scholas is working to address regional and national skills gaps, click here.

The threat of cyber attack is real.

The issue of cyber security is by no means new to the industry with 1.5 million cyber attacksmonitored in the U.S. in 2013. Cyber breaches are a fact of modern life that affect small, medium, and large businesses alike.

Because of the high threat that exists in today’s world, cyber security warriors are in high demand across a wide range of sectors from finance, to government to retail to academia. In fact, the Washington metro area had more than 23,000 job postings for cyber security positions in 2013, the largest concentration in the nation.

Although substantial investments in preparing a skilled workforce are being made in the region to address this imminent growth, the truth is, our nation’s cyber security talent pipeline is broken. The growing demand is only part of the challenge faced by employers. A pipeline of abundant talent is also scarce given specific qualifications required for cyber security–like security clearance and minimum years of industry experience.

On October 8, Per Scholas brought together cyber security specialists in a conversation on the regional skills gap for entry-level cyber security positions in the National Capital Region. The panel convened with leaders from private industry, higher education, and government working in partnership to develop pathways into the cyber workforce. The panel evaluated and discussed the current cyber security landscape, the restrictions that cause the talent gap, alternatives for building a stronger pipeline, and considerations in creating a diverse pipeline of local talent to fill immediate and future need. The conversation included a strong emphasis on the importance of all leaders working together as a team towards the creation of an evolved workforce. Bridgette Gray, Managing Director for Per Scholas National Capital Region. “Often, we’re trying to resolve regional challenges in our own silos. On October 8, we began the process of breaking down these silos. To address regional issues, we must erase jurisdictional lines by bringing all players across the region to the table; there’s a place for everyone. In all of our markets, Per Scholas strives to meet the specific demands of regional employers through our IT training. It takes strong partnerships to make that happen. We are happy to take the lead in building out this task force with all of our partners.” Those interested in contributing ideas, jobs, data, funding and leadership may contact Bridgette Gray at [email protected].

Per Scholas convenes cyber security task force to build pipeline for cyber security need in the National Capital Region.

Experts from private industry, higher education, and government join Per Scholas to begin initial planning.

Per Scholas, National IT workforce development expert, brings together cyber security specialists in a conversation on the regional skills gap for entry-level cyber security positions. The panel convened October 8 at the Silver Spring Civic Center with leaders from private industry, higher education, and government working in partnership to develop pathways into the cyber workforce.

“Cyber is so dynamic. You cannot teach it from a textbook,” said panelist Renee Forney, Executive Director of CyberSkills Management Support Initiative at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. “The key is true information sharing. If all interested parties can work together, then we can create a workforce that is agile enough to combat these threats.”

The recent security breach at JPMorgan Chase has caused cyber security issues to rise to the top of headlines and the priority list of policy experts, educators and business owners. The issue of cyber security is by no means new to the industry with 1.5 million cyber attacks monitored in the U.S. in 2013. Nor is the problem exclusive to our biggest companies: 75 percent of breaches occur in companies with fewer than 100 employees.

The Washington metro area had more than 23,000 job postings for cyber security positions in 2013, the largest concentration in the nation. Growing demand is only part of the challenge faced by employers. A pipeline of abundant talent is also scarce given specific qualifications required for cyber security–like security clearance and minimum years of industry experience.

Substantial investments in preparing a skilled workforce are being made in the region to address this imminent growth. Montgomery Community College, as the lead college of a consortium of Maryland community colleges, has been awarded a $15 million TAACCCT grant to support cyber-technology workforce development. Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) has been designated as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance 2-Year Education (CAE2Y) by the National Security Agency and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

The panel evaluated and discussed the current cyber security landscape, the restrictions that cause the talent gap, alternatives for building a stronger pipeline, and considerations in creating a diverse pipeline of local talent to fill immediate and future need. The conversation included a strong emphasis on the importance of all leaders working together as a team towards the creation of an evolved workforce.

“I am heartened by the diversity of the people in this room. We need to recognize that we all have a very important role to play,” said Jason Green, Per Scholas advisory board member and co-founder of SkillSmart, a technology venture designed to match job seekers to employment opportunities based on skills. “It’s not an opportunity, it’s a requirement. We can’t address the significant challenge ahead unless we work together.

Panelists included moderator Mark Shaw from ManTech International, the region’s largest cyber security employer; Mike Knapp, Skillsmart; Charles Britt, Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA); Richard Hill, Accenture; Renee Forney, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Kelley Bray, Symantec; Steve Silverman, Department of Economic Development, Montgomery County; and Bridgette Gray, Per Scholas. Montgomery County Councilmember Nancy Navarro made opening remarks. Representatives from the offices of U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski and U.S. Congressman Chris Van Hollen were in attendance.

“Today was a breath of fresh air,” says Bridgette Gray, Managing Director for Per Scholas National Capital Region. “Often, we’re trying to resolve regional challenges in our own silos. Today, we began the process of breaking down these silos. To address regional issues, we must erase jurisdictional lines by bringing all
players across the region to the table; there’s a place for everyone. In all of our markets, Per Scholas strives to meet the specific demands of regional employers through our IT training. It takes strong partnerships to make that happen. We are happy to take the lead in building out this task force with all of our partners.”

Per Scholas recently established partnerships with private company Doran Jones to build a talent pipeline of software testers, and a middle-skill training with the City of New York community college system. A similar approach will be taken toward cyber security opportunities in the National Capital Region.

The Per Scholas rapid re-employment training approach provides immediate relief for IT workforce demand. Its core entry-level training IT-Ready is only 8 weeks, allowing graduates to quickly fill available positions. And Per Scholas has the employer partners to bridge job seekers to jobs. IT-Ready training is an onramp to entry-level jobs, then the potential for continued education and skill advancement through established cyber programs at postsecondary institutions. Per Scholas opened in the National Capital Region in early 2014. The Per Scholas approach has been recognized as additive to existing efforts by leaders in business, government and education. Today’s panel is a joint effort to address regional cyber workforce demand.

“I partnered with Per Scholas because building an experienced pool of cyber security professionals is a regional challenge that requires a regional solution. As a national leader in developing collaborative partnerships to address workforce development needs, Northern Virginia Community College stands ready to lend its experience in this partnership to creating a sustainable pipeline of cyber security talent in the Greater Washington region.” Charles Britt, STEM Coordinator, Northern Virginia Community College.

Following today’s panel, Per Scholas will convene the task force to begin building a blueprint for the cyber security workforce. Those interested in contributing ideas, jobs, data, funding and leadership may contact Bridgette Gray at [email protected]. A special thank you to the advisory board members Barbara Ebel, Charles Britt, Ed Glabus and Jason Green, who made today possible.

National IT workforce development expert convenes cyber security task force to build pipeline for cyber security need in the National Capital Region.

Experts from private industry, higher education, and government join Per Scholas to begin initial planning.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – SILVER SPRING, Md. — Per Scholas, National IT workforce development expert, brings together cyber security specialists in a conversation on the regional skills gap for entry-level cyber security positions. The panel convened October 8 at the Silver Spring Civic Center with leaders from private industry, higher education, and government working in partnership to develop pathways into the cyber workforce.

“Cyber is so dynamic. You cannot teach it from a textbook,” said panelist Renee Forney, Executive Director of CyberSkills Management Support Initiative at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. “The key is true information sharing. If all interested parties can work together, then we can create a workforce that is agile enough to combat these threats.”

The recent security breach at JPMorgan Chase has caused cyber security issues to rise to the top of headlines and the priority list of policy experts, educators and business owners. The issue of cyber security is by no means new to the industry with 1.5 million cyber attacks monitored in the U.S. in 2013. Nor is the problem exclusive to our biggest companies: 75 percent of breaches occur in companies with fewer than 100 employees.

The Washington metro area had more than 23,000 job postings for cyber security positions in 2013, the largest concentration in the nation. Growing demand is only part of the challenge faced by employers. A pipeline of abundant talent is also scarce given specific qualifications required for cyber security–like security clearance and minimum years of industry experience.

Substantial investments in preparing a skilled workforce are being made in the region to address this imminent growth. Montgomery Community College, as the lead college of a consortium of Maryland community colleges, has been awarded a $15 million TAACCCT grant to support cyber-technology workforce development. Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) has been designated as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance 2-Year Education (CAE2Y) by the National Security Agency and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

The panel evaluated and discussed the current cyber security landscape, the restrictions that cause the talent gap, alternatives for building a stronger pipeline, and considerations in creating a diverse pipeline of local talent to fill immediate and future need. The conversation included a strong emphasis on the importance of all leaders working together as a team towards the creation of an evolved workforce.

“I am heartened by the diversity of the people in this room. We need to recognize that we all have a very important role to play,” said Jason Green, Per Scholas advisory board member and co-founder of SkillSmart, a technology venture designed to match job seekers to employment opportunities based on skills. “It’s not an opportunity, it’s a requirement. We can’t address the significant challenge ahead unless we work together.”

Panelists included moderator Mark Shaw from ManTech International, the region’s largest cyber security employer; Mike Knapp, Skillsmart; Charles Britt, Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA); Richard Hill, Accenture; Renee Forney, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Kelley Bray, Symantec; Steve Silverman, Department of Economic Development, Montgomery County; and Bridgette Gray, Per Scholas. Montgomery County Councilmember Nancy Navarro made opening remarks. Representatives from the offices of U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski and U.S. Congressman Chris Van Hollen were in attendance.

“Today was a breath of fresh air,” says Bridgette Gray, Managing Director for Per Scholas National Capital Region. “Often, we’re trying to resolve regional challenges in our own silos. Today, we began the process of breaking down these silos. To address regional issues, we must erase jurisdictional lines by bringing all players across the region to the table; there’s a place for everyone. In all of our markets, Per Scholas strives to meet the specific demands of regional employers through our IT training. It takes strong partnerships to make that happen. We are happy to take the lead in building out this task force with all of our partners.”

Per Scholas recently established partnerships with private company Doran Jones to build a talent pipeline of software testers, and a middle-skill training with the City of New York community college system. A similar approach will be taken toward cyber security opportunities in the National Capital Region.

The Per Scholas rapid re-employment training approach provides immediate relief for IT workforce demand. Its core entry-level training IT-Ready is only 8 weeks, allowing graduates to quickly fill available positions. And Per Scholas has the employer partners to bridge job seekers to jobs. IT-Ready training is an onramp to entry-level jobs, then the potential for continued education and skill advancement through established cyber programs at postsecondary institutions. Per Scholas opened in the National Capital Region in early 2014. The Per Scholas approach has been recognized as additive to existing efforts by leaders in business, government and education.

“I partnered with Per Scholas because building an experienced pool of cyber security professionals is a regional challenge that requires a regional solution. As a national leader in developing collaborative partnerships to address workforce development needs, Northern Virginia Community College stands ready to lend its experience in this partnership to creating a sustainable pipeline of cyber security talent in the Greater Washington region.” Charles Britt, STEM Coordinator, Northern Virginia Community College.

Following today’s panel, Per Scholas will convene the task force to begin building a blueprint for the cyber security workforce. Those interested in contributing ideas, jobs, data, funding and leadership may contact Bridgette Gray at [email protected].

—

For the past two decades, Per Scholas has trained thousands of individuals to meet the needs of leading employers and fill entry-level positions with the best in IT talent. Established in New York City, Per Scholas now offers free training in Columbus and Cincinnati, Ohio; Silver Spring, Maryland; and will soon open its doors in Dallas, Texas.

MEDIA CONTACT

Jessicah White
National Director of Communications
(718) 772-0623 // [email protected]

“Once my kids were put to bed, I would job search. From 9:00 PM to 9:00 AM. I applied to more than 700 jobs–20 a day or more. I couldn’t find a job.”

Kombo Inko-Tariah is a graduate from the first Per Scholas National Capital Region IT-Ready class. Out of his 15 classmates, fifty-percent were long-term unemployed prior to enrolling. Among them, the average period since their last job was 19 months. When Per Scholas opened its doors this past spring in the National Capital Region (NCR) to offer its free IT-Ready job training and CompTIA A+ certification course, it was a saving grace.

“My reaction when I found Per Scholas was — ‘What?! A+ certification–for free?!’ It was awesome.” Kombo completed his Associate’s degree in Information Systems knowing he wanted a career in technology. He worked in software sales in a previous job, which sparked an interest in how that software actually got made and how it worked. Upon completing his degree, he thought the employers would come calling and grab him up knowing how in-demand tech jobs were.

“No one called.”

“Why do you think that is, Kombo?” I had to ask.

“It’s because I had no certifications.”

“How can you know that for sure?”

“The interviews I did have, the conversation ended after they asked me if I had certifications,” he enlightened me. “The day I completed my A+ at Per Scholas and updated my resume, I started getting calls like wildfire. Four recruiters called me that day. I didn’t even reach out to them. They found me and I was interviewing within the week.”

Kombo was one of many of his classmates to immediately begin work upon completing the 8-week training. He even bypassed the entry-level role he was initially considered for and jumped two levels to start work as a Project Implementation Specialist for the Social Security Administration. He credits much to the Per Scholas training team for this.

Kombo was not short of words in expressing gratitude to his tech instructor Adam Turner. “Adam taught me how to learn and was a very big inspiration to me,” Kombo went on, “He would stand for 8 hours a day, for 8 weeks straight, and teach us. Eight hours! He would stand! ‘How does he do it?’ I would ask myself. I have never been in a classroom where the teacher stands the entire time and teaches without stopping–for eight hours. He commanded my attention and I thought if he can do that for me, I can do my very best for him. It was motivating.”

In addition to tech training, Per Scholas students receive one day a week of career coaching throughout the course to ready resumes, practice interviewing, effectively job search and prepare to re-enter the workforce. H.Y. Griffin is the Career Coach in the NCR office and Kombo admitted, “We wouldn’t always take that part of the class as seriously. But then as I interviewed, I saw everything Griffin taught us… was right. I could speak intelligently and confidently about everything on my resume. I could defend my certification. We owe a lot to Griffin.”

Managing Director of the site Bridgette Gray was very hands-on with Kombo’s class as well–she personally nominated Kombo for this student of the month feature. “Bridgette never once used the word ‘fail’ with us. It was always ‘when you guys pass, when you land your job.’ She would never give up on any one of us no matter how much we could feel discouraged.”

Bridgette has the same to say about Kombo. In addition to thanking him for being our courtesy on-site photographer (fun fact, Kombo is an incredibly talented professional photographer), she lauded Kombo for his positive attitude, motivation, perseverance, and commitment to Per Scholas and his classmates. “Accepting Kombo into our inaugural class was one of the best decisions we made as a site. Kombo came in with so much determination, not only for himself, but for ALL of us. He was intent on EVERYONE being successful, which included staff. Post graduation, my professional relationship with Kombo has grown. I know he is eager to see Per Scholas succeed. He has consistently checked in with me on how the subsequent classes are doing, what can he do to support and has passed along tons of job leads. I feel so honored to not only call Kombo an alum of Per Scholas, but also a friend. Oh! and he takes one heck of a photograph.”

The highlight of our work at Per Scholas is getting to meet exceptional people like Kombo. He told a story toward the end of our conversation about his life’s journey. Originally from Nigeria, he had both a good life and a life of struggle. As a young child, he lived a life where he was never without until one day, it all went away. Suddenly, having enough to eat became a struggle. Disappointment, not having what other people had, was how Kombo described this enormous disruption in his life.

When he had a family, he never wanted them to be disappointed in him. He wanted to be different. He said where he comes from, working in the airline business is the job. He always dreamed of working for Virgin airlines. He tried his luck one day applying and was shocked when he got the job. “That first job changed me. My attitude shifted to be that I could get what I wanted no matter the circumstance. There will always be obstacles, failure, but it is like a tree in your path and there is a way to the other side of that tree.”

Thus far, Kombo has let this positive attitude guide him on his journey from struggle to success as an A+ certified IT professional, a father of three, and a proud contributing worker here in the U.S.

His eldest son is 11 and told his father that he prayed for him to pass his test so he could get a good job so that he could then go to a good college. Smart kid. His father did just that and is well on his way up a pathway of success.

“I cannot fail for my son. Just try harder.”