Yulin Vang

After graduating high school, Yulin Vang knew that she wanted to pursue further education, but wasn’t sure what the right career path was for her. 

Yulin originally considered attending a traditional 4-year college but, as a young mother of 3, this proved to be too difficult. Yulin began looking for different ways to advance her career. She tried a variety of different jobs to try to determine what sort of work environment she liked, working roles in logistics, customer service, and at a warehouse. 

In her most recent role as a logistics clerk, Yulin felt undervalued and underpaid. She began considering a new career path for herself. Yulin had always been interested in technology and the accessible convenience it provides to people. She began searching for free IT training programs in her area, and came across Per Scholas. 

Yulin was worried that the program was a scam because it seemed too good to be true, but she applied and was soon accepted into Per Scholas North Carolina’s End User Desktop Support course.

Yulin was nervous going into the program because she had no tech background. However, she soon found that everyone in her class came from very varied backgrounds, and they were so welcoming that her nerves quickly dissipated. 

Yulin liked her teacher a lot, and loved the support that she got from him and from her classmates. She felt that their combined support helped her make it through the program.

“[Our teacher] made the class very comfortable, and if anyone needed support, he was the one to go to,” Yulin recalled. “He would answer all our questions, and if he didn’t have the answer, he would find someone for us who did…My classmates were so awesome. Without their support and encouragement, I think I wouldn’t have made it!”

A week before graduating, Yulin received a job offer from Novant Health to work as an End User Computing Analyst. She is nervous but very excited to start her new career, and she knows that she still has support from her teachers and classmates if she ever feels stuck.

“I finished [Per Scholas] more confident than when I started,” Yulin said. “It really gave me a boost. I feel excited and confident going into my new position!”

Yulin is excited to see where her new career takes her! She hopes to one day transition into cybersecurity or IT project managing and consulting.