Raheem Onapajo

Originally from Nigeria, Raheem Onapajo grew up being told that he needed to be a healthcare worker or lawyer, despite having a passion for IT and wanting to go into that field. He put his dreams on hold to work as a Nursing Assistant as his family had wanted. After two years working in healthcare, he started a bootcamp for IT to try to get into the field. He didn’t want to continue paying for the bootcamp, so he Googled alternative routes to get into the IT field when he came across Per Scholas. 

Raheem was thrilled to be accepted into Per Scholas Chicago’s IT Support cohort. He took full advantage of Per Scholas’s tuition-free training after previously paying for a similar training, but noted that Per Scholas’s professional development and career coaching set us apart from other programs. He graduated and quickly accepted a job, but was still receiving job leads from Per Scholas, including for an apprenticeship with Bank of America. He took advantage of that opportunity and is now a successful career-switcher, working with a good wage, benefits, and opportunities for growth. Raheem particularly liked that he was given a mentor for his role in application support, with a possible trajectory into software engineering and coding. He is currently working and receiving new skills on the job. 

The Bank of America Apprenticeship has empowered Raheem to grow in his career while getting paid and receiving benefits, for which he is incredibly grateful. He looks forward to continuing his tech career growth and hopes to take alumni courses through Per Scholas in the future.