Todd Theobald

Todd Theobald was not sure what career path he wanted to follow before choosing tech. He had attended some university, but decided that it ultimately wasn’t for him. Todd then joined the Marine Corps for several years and became a Chinese linguist. During his time in the marines, he worked a great deal with computers, and recognized in himself a real interest in and affinity for IT.

After leaving the marines, one of Todd’s friends moved to Florida and began studying tech at a university there. He invited Todd to join him. Todd moved to Florida with the intent to study tech, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to invest the time and money into university when he didn’t know yet which tech path he wanted to pursue. 

Without any tech certifications, Todd struggled to land a job. He decided to earn his CompTIA A+ certification to give him a better shot in the field. While searching for certification options, Todd discovered Per Scholas, and felt that the program was a great fit for him. “Per Scholas felt like an amazing opportunity, and it seemed like they wanted me to succeed,” Todd recalled.

Todd applied for and was soon accepted into Per Scholas Orlando’s End User Desktop Support course. He enjoyed his time in the course and appreciated its structured approach to the material, including well-defined goals, schedules, and syllabuses. Todd became good friends with his fellow classmates, and was impressed by how knowledgeable and resourceful the instructors were. 

Todd was initially skeptical about the professional development portion of the course as he considered himself familiar with the material. However, he ultimately found it to be very helpful. “It was a great way to update my professional profile from someone who was knowledgeable about the workforce,” Todd reflected. “They weren’t just preparing us to know about computers, they were preparing us for a job.”

After graduating, Todd landed a job as a Tier 1 Service Desk Analyst at Advent Health. He enjoys his job and is excited to learn as much as possible and grow his career. Todd wants to continue learning about and exploring other areas of tech, and plans to continue earning certifications. 

“I am very grateful for Per Scholas and the blind faith they have in putting resources, time, and energy into us,” Todd said. “We are just strangers, random people to them, and this whole organization of real people came down to support us. They were actually interested in and invested in us graduating and getting jobs. It blows me away how much it feels like the people of Per Scholas truly care about us….We’re not just another number to them. They actually want us to improve the quality of our lives. I’m so grateful for it. It’s hard work, but it feels good to work hard when people support and celebrate you in that work.”