The Urban Development Center is featured in WIRED Magazine “Urban Onshoring: The Movement to Bring Tech Jobs back to the U.S.” stating “The Urban Development Center lends this whole urban on-shoring concept some serious street cred, primarily because of a man named Keith Klain.”

Per Scholas

The Per Scholas philosophy is simple. We believe that one of the most effective solutions to poverty and long-term unemployment in the nation’s lowest-income communities is access to good jobs, along with the ability to succeed in them. We know that many of today’s most promising career opportunities are in the technology sector. Since 1998, Per Scholas has enrolled more than 4,500 unemployed and low-income adults in free IT job training courses. On average, more than 85% of Per Scholas students graduate and among graduates, every 3 out of 4 find jobs.

Doran Jones

Doran Jones, a technology services firm that specializes in software engineering and testing, is the private-sector partner on the software testing job creation initiative with Per Scholas. Founded in 2010 and based in New York, Doran Jones’ clients include Fortune 100 banking and financial services firms. Managed by a world class executive team with extensive experience in all aspects of software development and testing, they are backed by a board with a strong track record in financial services and community investment. Doran Jones COO is Keith Klain, a longstanding Per Scholas supporter, the creator of STEP and the UDC concept, and Per Scholas’ 2014 Person of the Year.

Software Testing course

In August 2013, Per Scholas launched the Software Testing course (formally known as STEP) —an 8-week training that prepares graduates to fill entry-level software testing roles. Per Scholas developed this program in response to the recent global trend of reshoring IT jobs that were initially established and developed overseas. Software testing is projected to expand to a $40 billion global industry by 2020, requiring thousands of new workers to meet the demand.

Delivered on-site in the Bronx, Software Testing is a lab-based training program that integrates field studies, industry experts, and the leading software testing tools. Software Testing was launched through partnerships with Barclays in addition to leaders from across the software testing industry, including Satisfice, QASymphony, UTest, Smartbear, Workroom Productions, DevelopSense, and the Association for Software Testing.

Urban Development Center (UDC)

During the early planning for the Software Testing course, Per Scholas was given the opportunity to bring hundreds of new IT jobs to its home in the South Bronx, one of the poorest Congressional District in the U.S., through the development of an Urban Development Center (UDC)—a software testing center modeled after the large successful testing firms located overseas. The UDC is an innovative partnership that brings together software consulting company Doran Jones, as operator of the center, and Per Scholas as the training provider. Doran Jones will provide software testing services for multiple clients, employing 150 Per Scholas Software Testing graduates within 18 months of opening the UDC doors. New hires will have a starting wage of at least $35,000 with benefits and have accelerated opportunities for advancement. To read more about this innovative project, see here.

Impact in the Bronx

Together, these initiatives will bring an estimated 150 new jobs and more than $5 million in additional wages to the Bronx, while at the same time meeting local business needs, creating domestic jobs, and developing access to middle class opportunities and community development in low income communities. We believe that the economic development impact of the UDC has the potential to spur additional growth in the Bronx, creating a Bronx Technology Corridor.

UDC Timeline

• Fall 2014 construction begins; Per Scholas continues Software Testing course to ready individuals for operations to begin. Interested applicants can apply for the course here.
• Summer 2015 UDC opens, Doran Jones begins operations with 50 testers
• Over the next 12 months onward, operations will build to 150 jobs in all

September 11, 2014 marked the inaugural golf fundraiser in Columbus and proved that supporting Per Scholas is not just about impacting our work and students, but is a whole lot of fun.

The event raised $10,000 to support Per Scholas’ continuing growth in Columbus where more than 130 low-income and unemployed residents have been trained to date for family-sustaining careers in technology, like current featured student of the month Kevin Gamble. Ten teams participated in the scramble with representation from sponsors Nationwide, HMB, Lightwell and Centric Consulting, joined by corporate teams Navigator, ViaQuest, TEKsystems, and LeadingEDJE. The competition proved fierce, with golfers vying to win the scramble and three additional competitions. Congrats to Team Lightwell for winning the Scramble! The list of other challenge winners are:

• Longest Drive: Mike Pugh, Centric Consulting
• Closest to the Pin: Thad Leemaster, HMB
• Longest Putt: Justin Wang, Nationwide

Competition aside, the highlight for the golfers was the attendance by the star guests: current and former students of Per Scholas IT-Ready training. With 40 golfers in attendance, Advisory Council Chair Joe Ours of Centric Consulting shared, “It was a great day of golf, and what an opportunity for our corporate supporters to meet some of the individuals benefiting from their investment in the Per Scholas job training.”

The feeling was mutual among the students. “It’s one thing for people to hear about graduates getting jobs. It’s even better for them to hear it directly. The golfers had lots of questions about Per Scholas, and were very excited to hear that I’d graduated and landed a job,” shared Chris Ferguson, graduate and brand new employee of JPMorgan Chase. “I was laid off in April 2013 and it was hard to get back into the workforce until Per Scholas. The program prepared me not only for the technical side of the job but made me comfortable going into the interview. I feel well prepared to start at JPMorgan Chase on Monday and I’m looking forward to it.”

“The synergy between past and present students and our supporters today was amazing. My heart really felt like it was going to bust because the golfers were here to support us, and we were here to help them enjoy the day. I have never been around an organization that works so hard for me, for my success and for my future. I’m determined and ready to take my career to the next level because of Per Scholas,” said Debra White, a current IT-Ready student volunteering her time at the event.

Andrea Applegate and Plinio Ayala

President and CEO of Per Scholas, Plinio Ayala, was in attendance for the big event alongside Managing Director Andrea Applegate. Both express that the support of our inaugural fundraiser proved the sky’s the limit for progress in Columbus. It promises to be an even bigger event next year.

A big thank you to our advisory council members who played invaluable roles in planning: Joe Ours, Bruce Zion, and our leader in planning, Dave Cherry. Their support out the gate is the reason why we are celebrating this success. Endless thanks again to our sponsors, supporters, and to the Oakhaven Golf Club for hosting the event. We look forward to next year.

See all the pictures from the event here. Donate, volunteer, hire a graduate, get involved and help us continue to change lives through our high-impact work.

Columbus residents obtain IT job skills through free training provided by Per Scholas. Nationwide and other local employer partners commit to hire.

August 4, 2014 – COLUMBUS, OH — On Friday, July 25, sixteen formerly unemployed or underemployed Columbus residents graduated from the Per Scholas IT-Ready job training and job search assistance program. The 8-week course provides training for the CompTIA A+ certification and prepares students for entry-level positions in the IT field. Employers hiring Per Scholas graduates include JPMorgan Chase, Nationwide Insurance, Time Warner Cable, TEKsystems, Applied Technologies, Collabera, and ViaQuest. The program is free to its participants – the vast majority of whom are formerly unemployed. This is the 7th class to graduate from Per Scholas since its inception into the community in 2012.

Per Scholas IT-Ready provides high quality hands-on technical skills learning and professional soft skills development to unemployed and underemployed individuals. The course teaches to the CompTIA A+ certification, which prepares candidates for entry-level helpdesk and technical support roles. In class, students learn the maintenance of PCs, mobile devices, operating systems, and printers. Mentorship from area technology professionals provides students with support as they transition from classroom to career.

“After speaking with local employers like Nationwide, they are ready for highly qualified, entry-level IT candidates to fill their open positions,” says Andrea Applegate, Managing Director for both Per Scholas Columbus and Cincinnati. “The training offered by Per Scholas satisfies that need by quickly and effectively training job seekers for jobs with our great local businesses.”
Per Scholas Columbus has graduated 150 students since it opened in 2012. More than 4,500 have been trained across Per Scholas sites nationally. Of those students, 85% have graduated and nearly 75% have become employed following training with starting salaries around $30,000.

About Per Scholas – Per Scholas is a national nonprofit organization offering free, high quality technology education, job training, placement and career development opportunities to people in underserved communities. Since 1998, more than 4,500 un- and underemployed adults (18+ years old) have enrolled in its job training programs. Per Scholas is expanding the IT-Ready network in partnership with the Creating IT Futures Foundation to bring free IT training opportunities to several other U.S. cities. IT-Ready sites operate in New York City, Cincinnati and Columbus, OH; Minneapolis, MN and the National Capital region. Recognition from the Social Impact Exchange named Per Scholas one of the top 100 nonprofits creating proven social impact in the U.S. and the White House 2014 report recognized Per Scholas for being particularly impactful serving the long-term unemployed. For more information, visit perscholas.org, review the fact sheet, Twitter @PerScholas and Facebook at facebook.com/PerScholas.

Media contact: Jessicah White, Director of Communications // 718-772-0623 // jwhite@perscholas.org

On Tuesday, July 22, President Obama signed the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act into law – with broad bipartisan support. In conjunction, Vice President Biden released his report on addressing unemployment and the skills gap through effective, employer-driven job training.

Per Scholas was cited by Vice President Joe Biden as an example of a program providing successful advancements in accelerated training for IT skills. In the report, released on July 21, Ready to Work: Job Driven Training and American Opportunity, Biden recognized Per Scholas as having been “successful at providing entry-level skills that put people on the first rung of the career ladder.”

The Vice President’s just-released report recognizes the importance of nonprofit training providers in job-driven workforce development. I am honored that Per Scholas is cited on page 75 of the report as an example of “exciting advances in accelerated training.”

It is deeply encouraging that Per Scholas is gaining recognition from so many diverse leaders and stakeholders. Thank you for your support in helping us grow our training capacity nationally and connect even more job seekers to career path opportunities in IT.

What began as an invitation for a student story quickly turned into more than Tiffany Lewin ever thought possible: being interviewed by Chelsea Clinton in front of 1,000 people, the whole Clinton family included. Queue the goose-bumps–and not just Tiffany’s. Everybody at Per Scholas, too. Her first time flying, Tiffany took off for Denver along with Per Scholas Executive Director of New York, Angie Kamath, and took the stage the second day of the meeting.

Tiffany contributed one-of-a-kind insight to the elite panel where she was joined by a CEO of a global company, a President of a college, a U.S. Secretary, and a founder of a local nonprofit. She was the sole representative on the stage speaking from a lens that always doesn’t get the spotlight: a young adult who was hungry for an opportunity and guidance. Tiffany came to Per Scholas at the age of 19 with no work experience, no income, no pathway to higher-ed and no outside guidance to change her path. She graduated from the Per Scholas IT training and by 20 landed her first job ever as a Hardware and Systems Analyst at New York-Presbyterian. Now, nearly three years later, she’s moved up in her responsibilities and now manages others. Her voice on that stage was all the more important because she also represents a population that makes up only 5% of the tech industry – a minority woman. We have a lot to learn from her.

Following her stage time with Chelsea, Tiffany has been on the ride of her life.

IT job training nonprofit Per Scholas attends Clinton Global Initiative America with commitment to reshore up to 500 software testing jobs with corporate partner Doran Jones.

Media Contact: Jessicah White, (785) 691-6987 / jwhite@perscholas.org

WHAT: Per Scholas, a New York-based national nonprofit that provides free IT job training and job placement to unemployed adults, makes a CGI Commitment to Action in partnership with New York-based IT consulting firm Doran Jones to immediately reshore 150 software testing jobs to the South Bronx and replicate model to additional cities across U.S. resulting in up to 200 jobs reshored in each city.

Per Scholas Executive Director Angie Kamath will attend CGI America June 23-25 with other national leaders to discuss its solution and others toward economic recovery in the United States. CGI Commitments to Action are new, specific, and measurable initiatives undertaken by CGI America commitment makers, leaders from the business, foundation, NGO, and government sectors, to make a positive impact.

At CGI America on June 24, Per Scholas graduate Tiffany Lewin, 22, will speak on a panel moderated by Chelsea Clinton to share her experience as a young adult who bridged the opportunity gap through the job training provided by Per Scholas. Ms. Lewin will be joined on the panel by PTECH Founding Principal Rashid Davis, Siemens Corporation President and CEO Eric Spiegel, and Miami Dade College President Eduardo Padron to discuss youth employment solutions in America.

WHO: Angie Kamath, Per Scholas Executive Director; Keith Klain, Doran Jones CEO of Testing; Tiffany Lewin, Per Scholas graduate and New York-Presbyterian Systems and Hardware Analyst.

WHEN: Monday, June 23 through Wednesday, June 25, 2014

About Per Scholas

Per Scholas is a national nonprofit organization offering free, high quality technology education, job training, placement and career development opportunities to people in underserved communities. Since 1998, more than 4,500 un- and underemployed adults (18+ years old) have enrolled in its job training programs and more than 3,500 graduates have found jobs. Per Scholas is expanding the IT-Ready Network in partnership with the Creating IT Futures Foundation to bring free IT training opportunities to several other U.S. cities. IT-Ready sites operate in New York City, Cincinnati and Columbus, OH; Minneapolis, MN and the National Capital region. The Social Impact Exchange named Per Scholas one of the top 100 nonprofits creating proven social impact in the U.S. The White House in its 2014 report recognized Per Scholas for being particularly impactful serving the long-term unemployed. For more information, visit perscholas.org, review the fact sheet, Twitter @PerScholas and Facebook at facebook.com/PerScholas?_rdr.

About Doran Jones

Founded in 2010 and based in New York, Doran Jones is a technology services firm that specializes in software engineering and testing consulting and outsourcing. Its clients include Fortune 100 banking and financial services firms across the continental United States. Managed by a world class executive team with extensive experience in all aspects of software development and testing, they are backed by a board with a strong track record in financial services and community investment.

Website: www.doranjones.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/DoranJonesInc

About the Clinton Global Initiative America The Clinton Global Initiative America (CGI America), a program of the Clinton Global Initiative, addresses economic recovery in the United States. Established in June 2011 by President Bill Clinton, CGI America brings together leaders in business, government, and civil society to generate and implement commitments to create jobs, stimulate economic growth, foster innovation, and support workforce development in the United States. Since its first meeting, CGI America participants have made over 300 commitments valued at more than $15 billion when fully funded and implemented. To learn more, visit cgiamerica.org.

Established in 2005 by President Bill Clinton, the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), an initiative of the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation, convenes global leaders year-round and at its Annual Meeting to create and implement solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges. CGI also convenes CGI University, which brings together undergraduate and graduate students to address pressing challenges in their communities and around the world. To date, members of the CGI community have made more than 2,800 Commitments to Action, which are already improving the lives of more than 430 million people in over 180 countries. When fully funded and implemented, these commitments will be valued at $103 billion. For more information, visit clintonglobalinitiative.org and follow us on Twitter @ClintonGlobal and Facebook at facebook.com/clintonglobalinitiative.

Last night, June 12, Per Scholas honored three outstanding partners whose contributions of time and talent, employment opportunities, funding, vision and leadership have played a key role in creating bright futures for our graduates.

More than 250 of our closest industry leaders and supporters mingled with many of Per Scholas’ accomplished alumni–namely featured speakers of the night Greg Lee, Tristan Delgado and keynote speaker Shannon Branch–at the Grand Hyatt Hotel for the third annual ROI dinner. It was a night of fun, food, inspiration, and Mariachi music provided by the all-female group Flor de Toloache.

We were honored to celebrate the contributions of Barclays and Keith Klain, whose ingenuity and generosity built the Per Scholas Software Testing Education Program (STEP) last year. As a direct result, close to 100 students have completed STEP training, with graduates earning average salaries o $36,000. The final honoree of the night, IT consulting firm Doran Jones, saw promise in Mr. Klain’s vision of a software testing center in the Bronx. Now, Doran Jones is Per Scholas’ private-sector partner on our software testing job creation initiative. Doran Jones will operate the new Urban Development Center (UDC), co-located at Per Scholas’ headquarters in the South Bronx, and provide software testing to its clients. We look forward to seeing 150 Per Scholas STEP graduates employed at the UDC over the next 18 months. An incredible commitment.

The message was repeated many times in the night. We could not do any of this without the support of those who support and inspire us, our corporate partners. Special thanks to our sponsors, including Barclays, Bloomberg, the Creating IT Futures Foundation, Dell, Doran Jones, JPMorgan Chase, High Point Solutions, NYSE-Euronext, Prudential, and generous donors Con Edison, Control Group, EMC, and Vicom.

Thanks to the generosity of our attendees, the ROI Corporate Dinner was just as much about looking forward as it was about celebrating our past successes. A quarter of a million dollars was raised through the generosity of our sponsors and individual guests, to go towards our students like Shannon, Greg and Tristan, who have ended cycles of poverty and unemployment through access to Per Scholas’ technology education and job services.

In giving the final award of the night, the Innovator of the Year award to Doran Jones, Per Scholas Executive Director Angie Kamath expressed: “Leadership takes vision, a bit of risk-taking, and an ability to dream beyond what is directly in front of you.” We are so lucky to have partners that step up to that tall order to allow us to continue growing and provide life-changing opportunities for our incredible, deserving students.

Pencil in ROI 2015 and continue to support the important work of Per Scholas and spread the word to others. There are many ways to help us rebuild communities. Volunteer your time to a student, be part of expanding the UDC, help us enter new cities across the country, make a personal gift, hire a graduate, or join an advisory or board role. With your contributions, Per Scholas will continue to grow.

“It is a real joy to be around Per Scholas staff and alumni – we seem to be a real happy group.” That was a parting comment from a Per Scholas Cincinnati alumna who attended the Per Scholas National Capital Region grand opening on April 22. She was one of many (happy) special guests.

Per Scholas could not be more excited for its fourth and newest site in Silver Spring, Maryland, serving the surrounding National Capital Region with IT-Ready training. The grand opening event took place April 22 with the presence of Acting Assistant Secretary Eric Seleznow, Employment and Training Administration, U.S. Department of Labor; President and CEO Msgr. Rev. John Enzler of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington; Leonard Howie, Secretary of Labor, Licensing and Regulation for the State of Maryland; Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett; Ed Glabus of ManTech International Corporation, representation from Congressman Chris Van Hollen’s office — and many others.

The event began with a roundtable discussion with Assistant Secretary Seleznow and five IT-Ready graduates – one from each IT-Ready operation, New York, Columbus, Cincinnati, Minneapolis, and a current student from Silver Spring. They were joined by President and CEO of Per Scholas, Plinio Ayala, CEO of Creating IT Futures Foundation, Charles Eaton, and Father John of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington.

“I worked for 18 years as a computer programmer. I was laid off and unemployed for nearly three years. I used up my pension, my savings, my unemployment. My family and I were surviving on credit cards when I found Per Scholas,” shared one graduate who is a mother of three. She is now working full-time as an IT consultant with ComResource at Nationwide.

“I was laid off after working for a company for many years. I couldn’t even get a job at the local hardware store. After Per Scholas, I now work for HealthPartners and make enough to not have to worry anymore for my kids. Simple things like going to the grocery store stress free about paying the bill is such a huge relief,” another graduate shared with the guests and peers.

Assistant Secretary Seleznow listened with his undivided attention. “I hear stories all across the country like yours – hard working people with great skills and attitudes that just need a little bit of assistance and an opportunity to succeed. You have done that! I am happy to say we have a President and Vice President in the White House right now that are listening to these concerns and have made it a priority to respond to need and support innovative job driven solutions like Per Scholas. Thank you for sharing with me today.”

After additional guests arrived, the roundtable was followed by a program with remarks from Per Scholas and partner leadership, local government officials and employers. The message was clear: the need for Per Scholas is abundant, both in the communities we serve and among employers.

“We consistently have 100-200 open jobs in IT and Cyber.” Ed Glabus of ManTech International Corporation shared in his speech to the audience at the inaugural event. “These jobs will not stop growing, the workforce will never catch up to the demand. That’s why programs like Per Scholas are a great solution and that is why I’m here today.”

Catholic Charities Per Scholas

The first class is now in session with 15 students at its permanent location at 700 Roeder Road. The class will graduate May 23. The celebration was held to introduce and highlight Per Scholas and the IT-Ready program – a free 8-week job training course providing high quality hands-on technical skills learning and professional soft skills development to unemployed and underemployed individuals. The course teaches to the CompTIA A+ certification, which prepares candidates for entry-level help-desk and technical support roles. The Per Scholas model has been proven successful through independent studies, triggering its growth into new markets. In its first year, 80 students drawn from the National Capital Region will be trained in Silver Spring. Historically, 85 percent of Per Scholas participants graduate and obtain industry certification and 75 percent of graduates land jobs.

Even among these prestigious guests, the stars of the event were obvious among everyone — the 15 Per Scholas students. Each individually gave personal guided tours through the space to each guest, provided photography services of the event, presented in front of the crowd at the podium, and, most proudly, networked, networked, networked. They looked sharp, were incredibly kind and personable, and Per Scholas could not be more proud of these newest members to our growing family.

Bridgette Gray

Per Scholas extends its deepest thanks to the guest speakers, its supporters Creating IT Futures Foundation, Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington, and the Community Foundation of Montgomery County, and the Silver Spring community for a very warm welcome.

We look forward to engaging with local partners and employers. The takeaway message from Managing Director Bridgette Gray of Per Scholas Silver Spring is clear: “Hire our graduates. And if you can’t, then introduce Per Scholas to a person who can.”

Bronx-based IT job training nonprofit, Per Scholas, Attends White House Event Focused on Serving the Long-Term Unemployed

Plinio Ayala, Per Scholas President & CEO, meets with Vice President Joe Biden to discuss strategy, scale and implementation

Bronx, N.Y. January 31, 2014 — Per Scholas, a national non-profit providing free IT job training and career support to individuals in underserved communities, will attend a White House event on Friday, January 31 convened by President Obama to discuss strategies for helping our nation’s nearly 4 million long-term unemployed get back into the labor market. President and CEO Plinio Ayala is attending to share the Per Scholas approach to serving the long-term unemployed and will sit with Vice President Biden to discuss how to strengthen skills training across the country.

Sector partnerships will be one of the strategies featured at the event as a tool to help the long-term unemployed re-train for new well-paying, family-supporting careers. These business-led partnerships bring together multiple firms within the same industry along with local colleges, training providers, community-based organizations and workforce investment boards. These employers work together to define common skill standards for hard-to-fill positions, and then partner organizations align publicly funded training and support services to prepare people for those jobs.

Mr. Ayala has been called to the White House to share the successes of Per Scholas in building such partnerships to re-employ local residents in the Information Technology industry. One of the hallmarks of the approach is that it is employer-driven with a growing list of employer partners who play an integral role in the program and graduates’ success. They include ASI System Integration, Barclays, Bloomberg, Cablevision, JPMorgan Chase, Neuberger Berman, NYSE Euronext, Pomeroy, Time Warner and many others.

A number of organizations promoting the national expansion of sector partnerships will also be in attendance, including National Skills Coalition and Business Leaders United for Workforce Partnerships. Other event participants will include CEOs from national corporations, small- and medium-sized employers, foundations, and other local organizations working to help the long-term unemployed in a variety of ways.

Secretary of Labor Tom Perez and Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker will be joining President Obama at the event to discuss a number of new efforts by the Obama Administration to bring new attention to the long-term unemployed. Among those efforts, it is anticipated that President Obama will be announcing new support for sector partnerships and other workforce intermediaries working with the long-term unemployed, building on the successful models developed by such organizations as Per Scholas.

Per Scholas provides free IT training, career development services, and job placement support for unemployed adults who have the drive but lack the skills to succeed in the IT industry. The Creating IT Futures Foundation, the philanthropic arm of CompTIA, partnered with Per Scholas to form the IT-Ready training network and spurred the national expansion of the program. IT-Ready has served 5,000 people to date in New York, Cincinnati and Columbus, OH, Minneapolis/St. Paul, and the National Capital Region. The network will grow to eight cities by 2016 and will train more than 1,000 individuals annually. Learn more at www.perscholas.org.

Anthony DeSantis, Senior VP of Information Technology & Services at Neuberger Berman, attended the 2013 ROI Corporate Dinner with Servon Lewis, this year’s student keynote speaker. Anthony wrote the following post in response:

“For the first Celebration with Service in 2010, we hosted a group of Per Scholas students, who toured our datacenter and technology, and participated in mock interviews. We’ve done this event successfully every year since.

Per Scholas, a Neuberger Berman Foundation grantee since 2010, is a national nonprofit organization that breaks the cycle of poverty by providing technology education, access, training and job placement services for people in low-income communities.

That first event was such an overwhelming success and I was so impressed with the group that I wanted to engage them further. The result was a desktop support intern program. To date, we’ve had nine interns rotate through our program, giving the students hands-on training related to their coursework, while also helping them develop their customer service and life skills.

Last year, one of the interns stood out. Servon Lewis showed such excellent communication skills and technical support abilities that we extended his internship. When a position then became available, Servon transitioned to a permanent role on our helpdesk. Having turned his internship into a job, Servon is a Per Scholas success story.

He is currently featured as their student of the month and was recently the keynote student speaker at the Per Scholas 2013 ROI Corporate Dinner, in which he spoke in front of 300 corporate IT leaders.

I encourage you to read Servon’s speech, a touching account of how the Per Scholas program changed his life.

Next time you call the helpdesk, you may speak with Servon directly and now you’ll have some insight into the voice on the other end of the line.”

____

To add, Servon was recently interviewed along with President & CEO of Per Scholas, Plinio Ayala, on Bloomberg TV’s Deirdre Bolton show. After it aired, and in addition to Mr. DeSantis’ expressive piece, the praise and supportive compliments have been nonstop from our committed corporate partner Neuberger Berman and its employees (and beyond, thanks to Twitter). Per Scholas — and Servon — are touched. Thank you.