On October 12th, Per Scholas learners enrolled in our Dallas Cybersecurity and IT Support courses took part in a Career Panel event with catalyst partner, Workday. At the event, Workday volunteers contributed their business professional knowledge, discussed career growth, and provided advice to our learners in 1:1 career conversations. 

The event was opened by Lilly Giraldo, Giving & Doing Program Manager at Workday, followed by some words on Per Scholas’ mission and background by Miguelina Manriquez, Per Scholas’ Senior Manager of Corporate Engagement. Attendees then heard about career growth from Jenn Skogg, the Principal B&D Learning Portfolio Manager at Workday, before breaking off into individual conversations between Per Scholas learners and Workday volunteers. 

The professional development opportunities and resources provided by Per Scholas are a unique function of our training program, and one of several factors that set Per Scholas apart from our peer tech training programs. 20% of each of our courses is dedicated to professional development training, and learners are also presented with opportunities, such as this event, in which they can showcase their skills, participate in mock interviews, and receive insight and advice from real employer partners.

Since 2014, Per Scholas has partnered with Workday to create paths to financial security by providing people who do not earn a living wage with skills training and access to better job opportunities in the tech sector. Over the years, hundreds of Workday volunteers have supported Per Scholas learners through mock interviews, resume reviews, guest presentations, and mentoring sessions that prepare learners for entering the tech workplace. Alongside the time and talent of hundreds of Workmate volunteers every year, Workday has made a significant impact on Per Scholas by investing more than $1.4M to date. We look forward to continuing our wonderful partnership with Workday to train individuals for high-growth careers in technology. To learn more about volunteer opportunities and how you can partner with Per Scholas, please reach out to Miguelina Manriquez for more information.

Kenneth Walker, Per Scholas’ Executive Vice President of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Culture, recently gave a tour of the Per Scholas museum, located at our Bronx, NY, campus. During the tour, Ken took viewers from Per Scholas’ founding in 1995, through our organization’s growth and valued accomplishments, and finally to our goals for the future. 

Per Scholas was founded in 1995, with the goal of helping to bridge the digital divide in the South Bronx which was, at that time, the poorest congressional district in the nation. In its earliest stages, Per Scholas hired local South Bronx residents to recycle used computers. Computers were either broken down on an assembly line and sold for parts or fixed up and distributed to local schools and families. 

In 1998, realizing the life-changing potential of a tech education, Per Scholas shifted its mission from refurbishing computers to opening doors for tech careers. In the museum tour video, Ken walked viewers through these early days of the organization, using personal anecdotes, pictures, and actual artifacts featured in the museum, to augment his story. 

Ken also covered some of the organization’s accomplishments featured on the museum timeline, such as classes for children and seniors in the early 2000s, breaking ground at Yankee Stadium, ringing the bell at the New York Stock Exchange in 2009, and the beginning of our expansion beyond the New York City location to cities all across the U.S. in 2012.

Ken discussed some of Per Scholas’ goals for the future and expressed how amazing it has been to see, firsthand, our organization’s incredible growth over the years. He also showed viewers the incredible murals painted on the walls of our Bronx campus, which feature some of our diverse learners. To learn more about our murals, click here.

Watch the full museum tour video here! 

Per Scholas partnered with Hired in August for a webinar for our learners to learn how to employ their potential. This was an enriching opportunity for our learners to connect with business professionals to gain industry knowledge on marketing themselves.  The virtual event lasted for an hour and a half and was a chance to network as well. 

More than 200 learners and graduates in Software Engineering, Cybersecurity, and AWS re/Start cohorts attended the Hired and Per Scholas webinar on Tuesday, August 2, 2022, to learn how to employ their potential with Hired, the largest AI-driven global marketplace that matches high-intent tech talent with the world’s most innovative companies. “Being able to develop and enhance relationships with Hired gives our learners and graduates ‘the edge’ as they gain access to an additional network of employers,” reflected Per Scholas Enterprise Account Manager Patrick Kazadi. “It is great to work with partners that are learners-centric.”

This innovative session consisted of a presentation to sign up for Hired and a chance to obtain coding assessment badges with a signup link specific for Per Scholas graduates. This was all followed by a live Q&A with the Hired Partnerships team.

We are proud that so many of our learners and graduates joined this webinar and took the next step toward their tech career opportunities. If you would like to partner with Per Scholas for webinars or professional development opportunities, please contact Miguelina Manriquez at mmanriquez@perscholas.org! Additionally, if you’d like to sign up as a learner, visit the Hired site!

Per Scholas hosted our inaugural Alumni Day of Giving fundraising event to celebrate our alumni’s successes. Throughout the day, we shared stories of our graduates on our social media platforms to recognize the incredible accomplishments of our 17,000+ alumni who have embarked on tech careers across the United States. In addition to the all-day fundraising celebration, our Alumni Services hosted a networking event for our graduates.

Following the day of fundraising, our alumni gathered for a virtual alumni celebration and networking event! It was a fantastic opportunity for our graduates to connect with fellow Per Scholas Alumni from all across the country and business leaders as well. Graduates learned more about the resources available within our Per Scholas Alumni Network. They hosted Breakout Sessions, including an Alumni Information Session, Peer Networking, a Professional Development discussion hosted by YuPro, and a Job Opportunities session hosted by Stellarworx. There were more than 350 individuals in attendance for the event. 

Per Scholas is proud to support our alumni for up to two years post-graduation, where our Alumni Services team provides guidance and the opportunity to participate in upskilling courses. Through the generous donations from this campaign, all supplies, textbooks, and laptops will be provided to two full cohorts.  We are grateful to Per Scholas Board member J.C. Lapierre who matched all donations up to $20,000.

We are proud to announce that our Alumni Day of Giving campaign raised more than $40,000, including J.C. Lapierre’s match, to support future cohorts for tuition-free tech training that will prepare learners to launch exciting careers in tech. 

Per Scholas Chicago Managing Director Andi Drileck was a panelist for CompTIA’s Partner Welcome discussion, The Keys to Success. This discussion was among various panels at CompTIA’s Partner Summit, an event hosting their partners for recognition, learning, connection, and engagement. The Computing Technology Industry Association is an American non-profit trade association issuing professional certifications for the information technology industry. It is considered one of the IT industry’s top trade associations. Per Scholas offers training and preparation for many CompTIA certifications that are part of our regular training and alumni services: A+, Network+, CySA+ (cybersecurity), and Security+.

Andi Drileck was a member of the panel with Jason Dion, Lead Instructor at Dion Training Solutions, and Tiffany Wallace, VP of Business Development at United Training. The panel was moderated by James Stanger, Chief Technology Evangelist at CompTIA. During the panel, Andi discussed Per Scholas Chicago and our mission as well as our learner’s experience throughout training and beyond. “We need to help support our learners with that imposter syndrome they may have with additional workshops and support. Now, we try to provide the full holistic support for our learners so they can be successful,” Andi remarked. 

In addition to our cost-free tech training, Per Scholas also covers the cost of certifications and preparation tools following graduation for CompTIA certifications for our learners to obtain. To watch the full event, click here!

Diverse by Design, in partnership with ITSMF, TEKsystems, and Per Scholas Chicago, hosted an intimate event focused on diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEI&B) at Cara Chicago. The event had a keynote discussion with Nikki Lanier, Founder and CEO of Harper Slade, featured the documentary The Road Up and a discussion led by Co-Director Greg Jacobs and held two-panel discussions about DEI&B efforts regarding diverse talent.

The Diverse by Design Chicago event was led by Damien Howard, Diverse by Design Co-Founder, and Per Scholas Chief Enterprise Solutions Officer. Here, Damien interacted with our esteemed guests to dive deeper into DEI&B challenges and solutions. In the keynote discussion with Nikki Lanier, Damien discussed corporate racial equity and engaging and retaining diverse talent through employee engagement. “The workplace is tremendously powerful in that it can be the source of such joy and replenishment, but it could also be the source of ammunition, muting, and stunting that doesn’t just contribute to how we work, but how we feel about ourselves,” Nikki reflected. “In my HR life, I was always really interested in employee engagement, but there are circumstances that give rise to really rich and meaningful employee engagement experiences, such as do we feel as though we are affirmed and valued and appreciated because of who we are, and not in spite of it.”

Following Nikki Lanier’s fireside chat, Greg Jacobs discussed his powerful documentary, The Road Up, which follows four participants in Cara, a Chicago-based job-training program. The film chronicles their search for stable employment and a pathway out of poverty. He then discussed the making of the film and its impact in the Chicago community. “[Cara] is an amazing place and we were so excited by the work that they do and so excited by the potential of everything that’s happening here that we wanted to tell the story,” Greg discussed. “We wanted to be part of the story to tell, and so as filmmakers, we got to be part of the story.”

Greg Jacobs then joined Jesse Teverbaugh, Cara Collective Director of Student & Alumni Affairs featured in The Road Up and Nikki Lanier for our first panel discussion, The Power of Alternative Skills Training, moderated by Damien Howard. 

Franklin Reed, Executive Director, Global Inclusion, Diversity and Equity at TEKsystems, and Diverse by Design Chair, introduced our second panel with insightful remarks regarding retaining top diverse talent and how the industry is moving towards attracting diverse talent to succeed in their roles.  “For decades, we have dictated where and how we attract and engage talent. That model used to work, and now we can either cooperate with this shift, or we can continue to resist it only to find ourselves on the outside looking in,” Franklin remarked. “However, now we are forced to invest in and engage talent pools that have been marginalized, underestimated, and on the lopsided distribution of opportunity.” 

The second panel discussion, Attraction Strategies and Talent Pipelines, was moderated by Nikki Lanier and featured panelists and Diverse by Design Board members Julie Dillman, Executive Vice President, Chubb Group; Senior Executive, Operations and Technology; and Digital Transformation Officer, Tina Simmons, SVP of Human Resources at Comcast Cable, NBCUniversal, and Maria Medrano, Sr. Director, Diversity Partnerships & External Engagement at Google. Here, this strong all-female panel covered topics on retaining diverse talent through meaningful engagement, attracting diverse talent for a multitude of perspectives, and creating corporate equity vs. equality. 

Additionally, we heard from Cara Plus Director of Expansion Strategy Liana Bran, who gave us information about Cara Chicago and their initiatives as a training program in Chicago. Per Scholas President and CEO Plinio Ayala closed out the event with remarks to challenge everyone in their diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging initiatives and his experience in doing so at Per Scholas. 

We are excited for our future Diverse by Design events and are thrilled about the important and enriching conversations held in Chicago that will challenge corporate DEI&B efforts. 

Watch the full event here!

Since the start of Per Scholas in 1995, we’ve grown to more than 300 employees, 19 locations across the country, and we’re not done yet! Due to our rapid growth and expansion, our organization has been seeking more hard-working and passionate people to join our team. This month, on June 16th, we held our first-ever Per Scholas Virtual Career Expo, showcasing our available positions; both remote and on-site. The Career Expo provided an opportunity for interested applicants to learn more about the Per Scholas mission, chat live with our recruitment team, and submit resumes on the spot.

The event was held in an incredible virtual space, designed in a collaboration by Per Scholas and virtual event platform vFairs. The space featured a lobby, expo hall, help desk, and lounge that applicants could move through as the event progressed.

 Those attending the event first entered the virtual lobby, where they were welcomed, via video, by Per Scholas Executive Vice President of People Montreece Smith. Attendees could also view a People of Per Scholas testimonial video, featuring some of our amazing employees.

 Next, attendees entered the Expo Hall, which contained multiple booths, each representing a currently-hiring department at Per Scholas. Applicants could browse job vacancies by department, chat live with our recruitment team, and submit applications on the spot for positions that interested them.

 In the Lounge area, attendees could view Per Scholas social media channels and video testimonials from Per Scholas employees. On the employment end, our recruiters were able to search submitted resumes and schedule private chats with selected candidates.

 More than 130 candidates attended the event, with over 80 applying for positions. The site will remain open for the next few weeks so that interested candidates can continue to view open positions and apply. We are excited for what is to come as our organization continues to grow and add new, wonderful people to our team!

Join Our Team!

In very exciting news, this month marked the return of Per Scholas’ in-person networking events, which have been held remotely for the past two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Our first two events were held in Atlanta and Dallas and created learning opportunities for Per Scholas alumni and an opportunity for them to meet and network with funders, employer partners, and industry experts.

The Atlanta event, Per Scholas Atlanta Homecoming: Level Up, was held on June 2nd, at the Marquis Conference Center and Patio in Atlanta, Georgia. Current learners and Per Scholas alumni had the opportunity to network and connect with fellow Per Scholas graduates, meet our wonderful new Atlanta team and Advisory Board members, and gain insight from Per Scholas staff and special guest industry experts on ways to bring their careers to the next level. 

“The Atlanta Homecoming Event was meant to introduce the Atlanta Alumni to the new staff and to welcome alumni who took remote classes to their home campus,” Sherri Sims, the Managing Director of Per Scholas Atlanta explained. “Our goal was to meet the alumni and offer our support in ‘Leveling Up’ their careers. We offered a networking session and two panel discussions…Overall the event was a huge success and several alumni have received interviews and job offers as a result.” 

In the first panel discussion, attendees learned about great ways to improve their resumes and LinkedIn profiles in a presentation by Per Scholas Atlanta Business Solutions Director Teri Gittens, and Senior Manager of Career Advancement, Stephanie Spencer. Kelly Raper, a Talent Acquisition Partner from Sage Software was a special guest speaker, who provided some additional tips and insight to the eager audience.

In the second panel discussion, attendees were taught some tips on moving to the next level of their careers by Per Scholas Advisory Board Member Nicole D. Smith, from the Harvard Business Review, and Sherri Sims. Special guest speakers for this portion included Prabhu Sadasivam, the Senior Director of Software Engineering, Insurance Technology, at LexisNexis Risk Solutions, and Danielle Joiner McPherson, the Director of Global Reservations, Tech and Innovation at Delta Airlines.

Finally, attendees learned about networking best practices, ways to upskill in the tech field, and a wealth of alumni resources available to Per Scholas graduates. The event concluded with a Q&A session, a networking mixer, and an opportunity to have a professional headshot taken.

Our Dallas event, Per Scholas Dallas Leadership Connection – Stronger Together, was held on June 9th at the J. Erik Jonsson Central Library in O’Hara Hall in Dallas, Texas. The event offered an inspiring afternoon of exploring the impact Per Scholas Dallas has on the lives of our learners and the workforce community, as well as insight on how individuals and organizations can get more involved with our work. Per Scholas Dallas graduates from 2020 forward were welcome to attend the event, and attendees had ample opportunity to network and connect with corporate and community partners, meet our passionate Dallas team, and hear from our successful Per Scholas graduates.

The event began with welcome remarks and an icebreaker by Per Scholas Dallas Director of Employer Partnership, Monique-Saré Jenkins. Attendees learned some key highlights about Per Scholas Dallas from Dallas Manager of Career Advancement Jason Cancino, Senior Manager of Recruiting and Admissions Ciara Owens, and Manager of Financial Capability Janell Pollard.

Next, attendees heard from Adedeji Adefuye, a 2020 Per Scholas Dallas IT Support alumni, who now works for Per Scholas as an Instructional Assistant. Adedeji’s story is one of inspiring success, and an excellent example of the ways in which a high-quality, cost-free tech education can change lives. Attendees then heard about “Funding the Mission,” from special guest speaker, Jay McCall, a Program Manager at the Rainwater Charitable Foundation, a private family foundation based in Fort Worth, Texas, that is dedicated to funding initiatives centered around education, and the ways in which it can change lives and communities. Finally, attendees learned about “Partnering With the Mission” from Stephanie Kline, the VP of Client Services at YUPRO, and Tirrany Nettles, YUPRO’s Director of Recruiting. YUPRO is an opportunity talent placement firm dedicated to creating diverse, inclusive workplaces.

Monique-Saré Jenkins concluded the event with a call-to-action for alumni, funders, and employer partners to get involved with making Per Scholas a success and changing the face of the technology industry.

“The Leadership Connection event was phenomenal,” Monique-Saré reflected afterward. “After two years of being apart, we wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to reestablish our footprint within the local community by inviting some of our alumni, funders, corporate partners, and other community leaders to build meaningful connections over lunch.”

We look forward to continuing to hold more in-person events as the year progresses and providing exciting and enriching opportunities to our learners, alumni, funders, and partners.

On June 8th, Per Scholas President and CEO, Plinio Ayala, spoke at the Social Innovation Summit in a Comcast NBCUniversal led panel discussion. Held in Washington, D.C. The Social Innovation Summit is a global social impact community whose events strive to bring together “the greatest innovators, changemakers, wayward thinkers, and black swans to come together to make real and lasting change towards social good.” Participants take part in discussions, debates, and networking opportunities to promote important ideas and work towards bringing about positive social change.

The two-day event featured numerous speakers, followed by a series of breakout room discussion sessions. Plinio was one of the featured speakers in the first breakout session of the second day. The 45-minute session, entitled “Driving Economic Mobility Through Digital Equity,” consisted of individual introductions followed by a series of questions intended to spark conversation amongst the speakers. The floor was then opened to questions from the audience, to promote audience participation.

Plinio’s fellow breakout session speakers included Michael Ellison, Co-Founder and CEO of CodePath.org, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that brings together employers, students, and colleges to eliminate inequities in technical education and recruiting, and Dwana Franklin-Davis, Chief Executive Officer of Reboot Representation, a Tech Coalition dedicated to closing the gender gap in tech by doubling the number of Black, Latinx, and Native American women earning bachelor’s degrees in computing by 2025. Their session was moderated by Gwyneth Gaul, Associate Vice President of Strategic Partnerships & Community Impact at Comcast NBCUniversal.

The attendees discussed a variety of topics, including the shift to virtual learning during the pandemic, the role of innovation in each organization’s mission, each organization’s approach to partnership and collaboration, strategies to ensure that the economic mobility that digital equity provides remains sustainable in a rapidly changing world, and individual advice for potential funders evaluating digital equity. 

“There will be hundreds of thousands of jobs appearing in tech over the next few years that we can’t imagine right now,” Plinio told attendees. “At Per Scholas, we feel a strong sense of urgency, because the entry point is constantly moving. We provide the necessary tech training to ensure diverse, resilient people of color can get access to digital careers and take advantage of thriving wage opportunities.”