Per Scholas Ambassador Blogs: Sade Strachan

“My name is Sade Strachan, I’m 28 years old from the South Bronx. I graduated from Per Scholas May of 2016 receiving my A+ certification in IT Support. I now work for NCR Corporation as a Second Level Customer Engineer. I service ATM’s in most major banks across the city. I am currently a new hire, but I am fascinated towards the work I do and excited to learn more! There’s a lot of opportunity for growth in NCR. Professionally and personally.

So far, what I love about my job are the perks! We receive a monthly metrocard, a Galaxy S5 Active phone to work from, also a Dell laptop!

I love how supportive my co-workers and managers are. Everyone here want to see you succeed. Learning a new skill for work can be intimidating, but If I have any questions while I’m out on the field, I have many people I can call and rely on to help me complete my task. I love the independence and sense of dependability i feel from this job.
Being a field technician I travel around Manhattan all day so it’s nice to be out and about instead of at a desk all day. When I walk into a bank The employee’s usually don’t expect a young, black woman to come up to them asking for permission to enter their ATM room. But when I show them my badge, and finish servicing their machines, they’re face change and I gained their respect. It’s aboss feeling.

Today I’ve received my first pay check from NCR! The figures I’ve seen for just two weeks of work dropped my jaw! I wouldn’t make this amount in a month, let alone two weeks!

A job had changed me because for the first time in my life, I have security. There’s an anxiety that no longer haunts me. For years I’ve worried about how I would make it day to day constantly being finacially unstable. Constantly depending on welfare or others to help me get out of money trouble. It took a toll on me. Especially my mental health. I was depressed for a long time.

Looking at my pay stub today, the sensational feeling of relief made me happy and very hopeful for my future with this company. Finally, I can say, I’m going to be just fine without hesitation.”

To help support 1,000 new students like Sade in 2017, consider checking out the #Ajobchangeseverything page to see how you can make an impact.