“Hi, Marybeth. I’m calling to let you know you’ve been selected to speak at the White House event this Friday, January 31.”

Marybeth Cornell, 2013 Per Scholas graduate, would not have previously considered herself “White House speaker-worthy” prior to January 31. Why her? In her eyes, she identifies with a lot of Americans. A mother, a hard-working professional, and someone who was hit by the recession and laid off from her job. Marybeth was unemployed for two years. Her story is similar to nearly 4 million long-term unemployed Americans who have received recent attention from the Obama administration and national media.

To address the issue of long-term unemployment, the White House convened an event with some of the nation’s largest employers, nonprofit service providers like Per Scholas, legislators, and President Obama and Vice President Biden. Per Scholas submitted nominations of program graduates to speak at the event and it was Marybeth’s story that rose to the top, one of only four in the nation invited to speak on the panel. Marybeth participated on the White House panel discussion moderated by the Secretary of the Department of Labor Thomas Perez to address solutions to serving the long-term unemployed. Per Scholas, and Marybeth, were honored to be invited and considered a leader in addressing this crippling issue.

Marybeth’s story is about perseverance and its vital role in the formula to getting hard-working Americans back to work. What happened in the recession was not just a loss of jobs and mass layoffs. Millions of Americans experienced a loss of self worth, self confidence, purpose, and hope. “Per Scholas was hard and it was also a very trying time for me personally. Per Scholas told me to push through and keep fighting — that every day is a day to continuously improve yourself. I needed to hear that.”

Marybeth had been a graphic designer for 20 years when she left the workforce to raise her son, a child with special needs. In the mid-2000s, after 10 years of raising her son, she tried to re-enter the labor force. Finding her skills were out of date, she went back to school, and got a job in 2008. A few months later, the recession hit the company, and she was laid off. Marybeth searched for a job for two years, and found herself under significant financial strain. Finally, a friend recommended Per Scholas. Had it not been for her unemployment benefits, Marybeth shared, she would not have been able to attend.

At Per Scholas, Marybeth joined a class of 20 others for 15 weeks of intensive IT job training and career development. Students come everyday, Monday through Friday, for class that runs 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. taking in material that moves at lightning speed. The course is challenging for any kind of student but for Marybeth it was accompanied with numerous personal strains that caused her to nearly give up and drop out of the course midway. This is why, in addition to our technical instructors, each student also works with a career development coach. The career development course is one day out of the training week and focuses on resume writing, interview preparation, effective job search and networking, and personal professional development. In addition to the classroom time, the career developers work one-on-one with the students privately to address bigger barriers like confidence, depression, and how to work past the years of discouragement that have built.

“My generation didn’t network. Facebook and social media didn’t exist before. LinkedIn wasn’t around,” Marybeth shared. “Networking wasn’t a standard method to finding employment and in my opinion, for many unemployed Americans this is very troubling.”

Over the course, Marybeth created a LinkedIn page and learned how to be proactive about networking. She even wrote — and got a personal response from — Gary’s Guide, the number one networking resource for the tech industry in New York City with thousands upon thousands of subscribers. “The most remarkable aspect about interacting with most of these businesses is that I reached out myself. I initiated the conversation. That was (and still is) a huge achievement that Per Scholas fostered through its emphasis on networking.”

Rebuilding confidence was key in Marybeth’s transformation. Per Scholas gave her the opportunity to earn the CompTIA A+ certification, an IT industry certification for entry-level technician careers. During the White House panel, Marybeth credited earning this credential as the defining achievement that led her to believing she did have something to offer an employer, and she had proof of it. Something she could physically show them. “At Per Scholas, I worked very hard to get a certification and it made a very big difference.”

Following her 15-week training Marybeth was accepted into an advanced course offered at Per Scholas in partnership with many industry partners like Barclays, Qualitest and Satisfice to be trained for jobs in software testing — STEP. Last month, after Marybeth completed STEP, she accepted a full-time job as a Junior Software Tester with Qualitest, our newest employer partner. The position has high potential for earning increases in the next two years.

“QualiTest is enjoying substantial growth,” said Yaron Kottler, CEO of QualiTest Group US, who accompanied Marybeth at the White House event. “We’ve been hiring 50 employees every month, and it’s a great boon to our company that we can take on a group of hand-picked individuals who’ve been trained by the likes of James Bach and Paul Holland. This is huge win-win – it’s a great opportunity for us as well as for the graduating testers themselves.”

At present, Marybeth’s commute is 2-1/2 hours each way — a sacrifice worth it to her. “I cannot describe my feeling in any other way than total pride. Being offered a position is like saying to someone: We recognize that you would be a valuable asset to our company. You have something to offer.”

That is the same message President Obama sent to the employers of the nation during his address on January 31. “We can’t afford to let such incredible talent be wasting away […] We’re going to keep encouraging employers to welcome all applicants. You never know who is going to have the next great idea to grow your business […] It’s good for our economy, but it’s also good for our people.”

President Obama signed a Presidential memorandum to make sure that individuals who are unemployed or have faced financial difficulties through no fault of their own receive fair treatment and consideration for employment by federal agencies. Vice President Joe Biden met with the best programs providing training for the jobs that exist today, and Per Scholas was one of those programs. The Vice President spoke personally with Plinio and is committed to supporting our program and more like it to serve as many people like Marybeth in order to fill the roles with companies like Qualitest — who project to have the need to hire dozens of new software testers every month in the coming year.

Per Scholas thanks itsemployer partners who hire our students based on talent and work ethic alone and do not discriminate against work history gaps and other barriers that play no part in one’s performance. Qualitest, Marybeth’s employer, joined the discussion at the White House, as did long-time employer partners ASI System Integration, Time Warner Cable, and JPMorgan Chase. We are honored by the invitation of the White House and thankful to Vice President Joe Biden for his attention to ensuring every person like Marybeth in America gets back to work.

Miguel, 26, lived in more than 10 different homes in his life. He survived cancer in his single digits. He learned to read when he was in the fourth grade. And our staff have bets on him to be one of the most successful graduates in Per Scholas history.

Miguel had about a million opportunities to — as people put it to him — “fall through the cracks”. Fleeing a violent relationship with Miguel’s father, Miguel’s mother moved him and his three siblings from California to New York City when he was three years old. At the age six, he was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphatic system, and was in and out of Memorial Sloan Kettering until he was 10. By the age of 13, he and his sister were forced into foster care due to educational neglect (they weren’t going to school). He spent two years in his first foster home and then returned back to live with his mom. One month later he was placed back into foster care.

In the following nine months, he lived in six different homes covering just about every New York City borough — and Long Island. He attended lots of different schools, encountered a lot of different challenges, and at 16, after his sister ran away, Miguel entered an agency operating boarding home (AOBH) where he lived with five other young men being cared for by two AOBH employees (Miguel refers to them fondly as “mamas”). At 19, he dropped out of high school and at 20 he aged out of the foster care system and moved in with one of his sisters in the Bronx. He got his GED, took a few classes through University of Phoenix, acquired debt, and went through hourly jobs one after another. His longest job was just under two years at Walgreens. Then, at the age of 26, he found Per Scholas.

I must admit I looked at Miguel with disbelief while interviewing him. The unfortunate reality is that you often hear more bad than good for kids who grow up as he did. According to research from Children’s Rights, teens who age out of the foster care system are highly likely as adults to experience homelessness, poor health, unemployment, and incarceration. But sitting across from Miguel, I sense my own sheepish surprise to be speaking with an eloquent, well-mannered, borderline genius, stable young man. His assessment is, calmly, “I just deal with things as they come.”

With so many housing changes, school changes, and disruptions in maintaining basic living standards, I wondered when computers ever had the chance to enter Miguel’s life. “I would sneak into the basement of a museum near me when I was 11 — that was where the computers were — and I would stay down there for hours, day after day.” By the age of 17, Miguel figured out enough about computers that he built his own buying cheap pieces online and finding others where he could. He built his second computer from scratch when he was 19. This is a common trend among a very specific group of our students — the natural techies who dive into it fueled by insatiable curiosity. When students like Miguel find Per Scholas, it’s a match made in heaven and immediately noticeable in class. He excelled as a top student during his 15-week training led by our instructor Obinna Nwoke. So good, Miguel was nominated by his instructor and career development team to be part of the first-ever pilot software testing class (STEP) launched in August of this year.

“Miguel has a very, very bright future ahead of him,” shared Tiernan Walsh, Director of Alternative Staffing at Per Scholas, who works with the STEP students directly on employment opportunities, including Miguel.

Per Scholas was only one single factor in Miguel’s bright future. Hearing his story, we are touched by the individuals who are committed to social service, health services, foster care, and education. Many times, Miguel credited his former counselor, Chris, who he met when he was 15, as his life mentor. They’re still in touch today (they texted while we were meeting, in fact). He spoke of a student resource teacher assigned to him at one of his schools who worked with him to get him caught up on his literacy. That teacher got Miguel up to his reading level in less than three months. Miguel only spoke fondly of his time at Memorial Sloan Kettering, believe it or not. We heard about each of his mothers and fathers, and “the mamas,” who kept Miguel safe and on track. And of course his biological mother who took Miguel out of harm’s way even when doing so meant a very tough road ahead. Look at the wonderful outcome because of that hard decision she made.

We are so incredibly appreciative of all who are committed to helping others, and I am confident saying we are all incredibly proud of Miguel.

**UPDATE**

Today Miguel works in San Francisco for One Kings Lane. He wrote recently to share he’d taken up mountain climbing and bouldering. Pretty rad.

August is a big month for three recent graduates of Per Scholas. Hired to join the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) Veteran Associate program, Thiry Ngin (Navy), Nelson Casillas (Army) and former Student of the Month Sara Yarbrough (Army) will finish the ten-week engagement and move on to bigger things. We were excited about this milestone and naturally had to go pay them a visit before the program ended.

When we sat down to learn more about their work, we were joined by executive Daryan Dehghanpisheh, VP of Business Development for NYSE Technologies, who is becoming involved with Per Scholas in the wake of our successful 2013 ROI Corporate Dinner. For the next hour, we felt fortunate to be part of a wide-ranging conversation about business technology, NYSE, Per Scholas, and the extraordinary opportunities available to anyone with the drive and skill to succeed in IT.

Our graduates especially enjoyed comparing their diverse experiences. Thiry was placed on the e-Learning and end-user training team, while Nelson joined the telecommunication department. Sara worked directly on the trading floor providing tech support. As Veteran Associates, all three were tasked with the same responsibilities as their NYSE colleagues, with whom they’d already started forming close relationships. Each of them, they shared, had a mentor who was truly invested in their professional growth and learning.

Thiry spoke for them all when she said “I am learning so much!” She added that “Teaching technology was what I set out to do when I came to Per Scholas. And I’m doing it. I gave my first training presentation to staff last week.”

At the same time, all three graduates were proud to represent returning U.S. veterans on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange — and were overwhelmed by the support and goodwill they experienced. “They care about us (veterans) so much, they really do. They have a unique appreciation for what we did,” Sara shared.

A bonus perk of being a NYSE Veteran Associate: all have participated in the closing bell tradition. Nelson joined the ceremony celebrating the U.S. Army’s 238th birthday with a 4-star general. “When we walked into the trading floor for the closing bell, everybody stopped what they were doing to applaud us — like we were celebrities walking through. I was so moved by the respect they showed us.”

And you can tell from this video (Sara left of middle) that it was a true thrill for her, too.

This past Monday, July 22, a networking event was hosted just for the veteran associates with employers interested in hiring them: Bank of America, Merril Lynch, Marsh and Pepsico all attended to take resumes and meet candidates. Before the end of the program, Honeywell and AIG will also be coming to do the same.

“Per Scholas and this internship have brought me back to life and I am sure that it will lead to a permanent job,” Nelson expressed. Before Per Scholas, Nelson could only find occasional temporary employment. He learned about Per Scholas through an online job search and came to the Bronx to enroll the very next morning.

A similar story, Thiry was laid off from her position working in accounts receivable for a company. She knew technology would give her the job security she was seeking to give her life more stability. And we all know Sara’s story (and if you don’t, read it here). All three came to Per Scholas ready to change their lives for the better — and for good. Thanks to the help and unwavering support by NYSE, these three are well on their way.

Before we parted ways with the students, we made our way down to the trading floor for some obligatory photo ops. And this is when the coolest part happened — at least to me as an observer from Per Scholas. Everybody knew our students. Everybody. A trader in his blue jacket passed by and stopped to shake hands and say hello to Sara. Thiry was hollered at from across the way as we walked through with friendly greetings. Nelson waved around as they called him out. The New York Stock Exchange trading floor was visibly thrilled to see our students!

Call me crazy, but when are interns ever this well known and engaged with the company teams? I had to pause and let the warm and fuzzy feeling run its course, like we feel so often in our awesome jobs working for Per Scholas. Our students aren’t just interns for the summer or brought on out of charity or being given a freebie opportunity as a nice gesture. They are recognized professionals, appreciated by their colleagues. What a wonderful reminder this was.

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.

Servon Lewis graduated February 2012 from the Per Scholas IT-Ready training. He has since become one of the greatest success stories in the school’s history and for that was selected to be the keynote student speaker at the 2013 ROI Corporate Dinner honoring CIO of Barlcays and Per Scholas board member, Joe Squeri. His speech was worth sharing. On June 12, 2013, Servon Lewis took the stage:

Good evening. My name is Servon Lewis. I’m a 2012 graduate of Per Scholas and now I work full-time for Neuberger Berman. I’m honored to be here tonight to tell you my story, show my gratitude for Per Scholas, and help raise awareness of all the positive influence they have on the lives of young people like me.

Let me tell you a little about my story. I’m a native New Yorker, raised in the Bronx. Growing up, I lived with my mother, my father, 4 brothers, one sister and two of my cousins in the Monroe housing projects.

As you can imagine, we didn’t have much money. But when I was a little kid, life wasn’t too hard. At least in my opinion. My Dad worked as a mail delivery truck driver, and made just enough so that my Mom could stay home and take care of the seven of us — since day care wasn’t exactly an option.

My family was close— and not just because we lived on top of each other. There was always love and support, even with minimal means. We never felt like we had a lot, but we always managed to scrape by.

Then one day, ten years ago, my Dad had an accident. He was driving on an icy road and lost control. The truck flipped over and he nearly lost his life. He would have died if it weren’t for an off-duty medic driving right behind him, who stopped and saved his life.

It’s still hard to think about. The fear of losing him was so intense. I was so relieved when the doctors told us he would live. But they also told us that my Dad would never work again. He’d suffered a severe back injury. My mother still had seven kids to care for… and no job for herself. So, after that, the only income supporting our entire family came from Social Security and Worker’s Comp. We had to rely on food stamps and other assistance to get by. We struggled to get food, clothes, school supplies, and other necessities. Then they took the food stamps away. After that, it was even more of a challenge. And Christmases and birthdays — forget about it! But my family stuck together and supported each other.

I don’t want to tell you a long sad story, but life in the Bronx wasn’t easy. It wasn’t easy for most families that lived there. In the projects where I grew up, it’s just like you hear on TV about drugs and gangs — and a lot more that you don’t hear. My brothers, two cousins, my sister, and I had to walk past gangs to get to school. Basically, you grow up too fast when you live in the projects. But even when things were most chaotic, I was able to keep my grades in the 80s and 90s, even 100s. So I thought I was all set.

I couldn’t wait to get a decent job so I could help my mom and dad. But I didn’t know how to go about it. I didn’t know where or how to look… who to ask… or how to put a resume together. So there weren’t many opportunities. In all that time, my best job was at a grocery store, making minimum wage. The hours were only part-time — and of course, there were no benefits. In the meantime, things at home were getting harder. Prices kept going up, but you don’t get a raise when you’re living on disability.

I tried… and I tried… to get a decent job, but after a while, I just sort of gave up. I felt embarrassed and defeated, and I stopped looking for something better.

But one day, that changed. It was just another day of sitting around watching TV. But this time, I saw a man being interviewed about how he started out with nothing… and was able to come up in the world — just by working hard.

And something clicked.

I realized that I couldn’t just give up. I couldn’t sit at home and wait for an opportunity to knock on my door. I had to go out and find it. And that’s when I remembered Per Scholas.

A few years before, I’d heard about Per Scholas through my mother. I thought nothing of it when she first shared it with me. I wasn’t in a mindset to care back then. But on this day, when Per Scholas popped into my head, it was like a sign saying, “This is the way.”

I called Per Scholas. I applied. And luckily, they accepted me. This was my first step in a new direction. My parents were so happy for me, and so was I.

Per Scholas offers a quality education! The program is tough. They have a no-tolerance policy for things like attendance and lateness. Even grades had to stay at a high average, so I knew I needed to be on my best game for this one.

The training is rigorous — and teaches us how to become IT professionals, starting with the basic foundation: Where’s the mother board? Where’s the RAM? And then we move on to data recovery and virus removal — and further on to networking and cloud computing. They taught me SO MUCH!

On top of the hands-on tech course they have a class called life skills – and for me, that was probably the most important class of my life. It taught me the mindset you should bring to work and tips on how to hold down a job and move up. Per Scholas helped prepare me for interviews, and coached me to be confident in myself.

While I was at Per Scholas, my parents did the best they could to help me. But sometimes there wasn’t enough. Most days I’d live through the whole school day off a bagel — or a pack of cinnamon rolls from the vending machine — because they only cost a dollar. I was hungry. But it didn’t matter; I wasn’t there to eat; I was there to learn.

Per Scholas knows where their students are coming from. That’s why they offer this free school. But what meant the most to me was the ways they helped me, individually — and without making me feel ashamed that I needed it. They bought me a metro card when I needed one to get to my interviews. They even bought me a suit — tailored and everything! I love that suit! I wore it to every interview, every event. I wore it to everything. And the best thing I wore it to was my interview at Neuberger Berman.

That was February, last year, after I graduated from Per Scholas. The interview was for a 10-week IT Desktop Support internship. I can still remember how I felt when I arrived. The place was humongous, everyone was so nice, and the people who worked there were so cool. I really wanted that job — and I was so excited when I got it.

Even though I had to move, and get a car, and learn a whole new way of life, I knew that I was going to do whatever it took. And because of Per Scholas, I knew what to do. I knew how to excel on the job. I show up on time. I’m a team player. I bring a positive attitude. I say yes to any work you need me to do. I WANT to work. I WANT to succeed!!

And so far, it’s going really well! Not only did I finish that 10 week internship, Neuberger Berman kept me on. And now I work full-time, with pay that I never dreamed of making — ever. It is difficult for me to admit out loud, but I make more money than my entire family – combined.

My life has changed, and I’m never going to stop working hard — it’s what got me here.

My mother, father, and grandmother are incredibly proud of me today. I give them so much respect for all their love and support. They’re totally the best. And what’s really cool is that my mother said that she was inspired by me to do her best at Bronx Community College, where she’s now an honors student. I am so proud of her!

Today, things are very different for me. I have my own place, in New Jersey. I have my own car. I give back to my family. And the family I hope to raise one day will grow up in a safe area.

—-

When I was a kid and my parents used to ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I would say, “I want to be the boss.” And — with what I’ve learned from Per Scholas and Neuberger Berman — I plan to make that dream come true.

So I want to say thank you with all my heart. Thank you, Per Scholas, for investing in me and thousands of others. And to those that support them.

My experience is not unique. All of my classmates have their own stories and challenges. But YOU give those stories a happy ending. Your Impact changed my life. And every day, for the rest of my life, whatever I achieve will be a return on your generous investment.

Olympia LaRose is another Per Scholas graduate who will go down in history. She is the first graduate to be hired at global financial firm PIMCO, a rising star of a corporate partner who has supported Per Scholas for the past two years on many levels. Olympia, being a graduate of our Women in Tech program, feels her success is an inspiration to other young women of color to pursue careers in technology, a movement gaining much attention in the industry.

“The very woman who loves Saks Avenue and six-inch heels is quite capable of climbing ladders and using screwdrivers, with more creativity. I endeavor to overcome historical barriers–one stiletto at a time.”

Olympia loves the challenge of being a woman in technology, a field where only 25% of the workforce is female. “I feel my male counterparts may look at me and think I have a limit to what I can do, and that only motivates me to work three times harder to knock down these stereotypes and barriers facing women in this industry.”

Olympia is from Guyana, a country where computers are sparse — only one in 50 people had access when she lived there. She credits her grandmother for introducing her to technology when she sent Olympia to a typing class in her town. “Seeing a room full of computers was like the equivalent of seeing a brand new Corvette. I couldn’t wait to touch it.” This exposure had a permanent impact and the rest was history.

In her teens, her family moved to New York City where she completed her education in technology. She helped out a great deal with her church setting up computers, the networks, and even a website. Her new life motto became “Jesus and mother boards.” Despite these accomplishments, however, she still felt stuck, unfulfilled both professionally and intellectually. Then she found Per Scholas.

Enrolling primarily for the professional certifications offered (the CompTIA A+ and MCTS), Olympia couldn’t believe the level of education offered from a free program. “Per Scholas was the most amazing professional experience of my life. I was exposed to every aspect of IT, from cloud computing and peripheral connectivity to manipulating software and network devices,” adding that the hands-on experience surpassed what her bachelor’s degree in IT offered. “The experience stimulated my desire to further my IT knowledge and advance my skill set, which is irreplaceable.” Then there was the layer of being in a women’s only class, an environment vastly unrealistic compared to the IT industry as she had experienced it. “My most memorable experiences were our morning Tech Talks, where we talk about current industry trends whether it be Google or Intel at the start of class. Most of my classmates were new to IT and new to this type of social engagement, but eventually Tech Talks turned into the part of class we all eagerly awaited. It was our daily dose of caffeine.”

It is extra exciting that Olympia landed at PIMCO. The company has been an active corporate partner in volunteer engagements and generous funding, believers in our mission and students. They are thrilled to have her join the firm.

Olympia will pay this investment forward and looks forward to volunteering her time to share her story with other women and inspire them to follow her lead. “It is okay to be a minority of numbers, not qualifications. I allow my faith, my skills, values, character, and qualifications to define my path.”

We can’t wait to watch others follow Olympia’s path.

A large majority of Per Scholas graduates begin their IT careers through short and long-term contract work. IT staffing agencies and managed service providers such as ASI, Unisys, Harvey Nash, Robert Half, Peak Systems, Insight Global and many more turn to Per Scholas for talent on projects with some of their biggest clients. Insight Global wrote us this week to pass along the praises from one of their Fortune 500 clients.

From the employer to Insight Global:

“I wanted to take some time to recognize your team for the great job they have done during our refresh yesterday and last evening.

HP team of polite and knowledgeable technicians/installers lead by Alton McCarthy (pictured, 2012 graduate) came to our banking center yesterday and replaced our workstations and printers. I was impressed by their expertise and their ability to manage the entire process. Alton and his team were happy to be there to help us through our transition and have patiently explained the process to us. They asked for our input and did not disrupt our end of day activities in any way. Although we feared that we would have some issues with the systems , this morning we came in and everything was set up exactly the way we wanted it.

It is nice to have the opportunity to work with a team of people who are excited about their job and eager to make their customers happy. Alton and his team went above and beyond in their effort to make our experience with HP a positive one.

I am grateful to have been given the opportunity to have this team at my location. I hope their excellent work ethics and dedication will not go unnoticed.”

These compliments warm our hearts. We are very proud of Alton for representing himself and his fellow classmates so well, and we applaud Alton’s Per Scholas instruction team as well for their contributions. It’s strong work ethic expressed by the employer above that results in 80% of our graduates landing jobs following our IT job training.

Interested in hiring a student similar to Alton for your team and projects? Get in touch with our employment services team.

Our Women in Tech class is creating quite the buzz. First the Bronx Free Press story and now CompTIA. The company wrote a post to their IT Career Blog featuring Per Scholas graduate Mary Ellen Foye who recently graduated with the fifth all-women’s class in Per Scholas history. She caught the attention of CompTIA by earning perfect scores on her A+ exams — a rare achievement, not just among our student body. We are proud of Mary Ellen for her achievement and thank CompTIA for sharing her success.

It’s the norm for parents to take their children to school. But Yulonda Stevens took her son Sharod to school — to enroll in class with her. The Stevens family made Per Scholas a family affair.

“My son and I applied together and were both accepted together, in the same class. Now we study together, quiz each other. He helps me figure out problems I don’t understand, and I help him.” Yulonda shared. The Stevens family is the first in Per Scholas history (to our best knowledge) to have a mother and son in one class. Sure, plenty refer family members once they graduate — but to take this on side by side? It’s kind of adorable.

Yulonda, 51, always wanted to branch into the technology industry but feared putting her job on hold to take the plunge, so never did. Her career spanned decades working in finance but following the economic downturn, Yulonda experienced not one but two layoffs. Per Scholas was the answer to her prayers after over two years without work strained the family finances. It also opened a long-awaited door to pursue a personal passion. She brought Sharod along with her to enroll knowing technology was a field wide open with opportunity and the route for a stable future.

Her story is not an unusual one these days for so many Americans who have been negatively affected by the recession. Many students around Yulonda’s age who were loyal employees, committed to their respective careers, come to us needing a new 21st-century skill set, recognizing the evolution of today’s job market. By Per Scholas offering a free training for jobs in one of the most in-demand industries, it gives this productive population of our local workforce the “new economy” skills to reinvent themselves and contribute again, as they always have. It’s a win-win for all.

Following training and the completion of her CompTIA A+ certification, Yulonda hopes to begin in an entry-level role, potentially with Per Scholas employer partner JPMorgan Chase where she is currently in interviews, and work up to network security on her new career track. Yulonda has her eye set on the advanced certifications offered to Per Scholas graduates free of charge courtesy of the Creating IT Futures Foundation. She will pursue the Security+ certification in the coming months following her core training.

“My grandkids love that grandma is in school, just like them. It used to be me asking what they were learning in school and how their school day went,” she laughs. “Now it is them asking me.”

In addition to Yulonda’s family learning approach, she was recognized by the Per Scholas staff in Columbus as the stand-out student to feature this month. She repeatedly scores high marks on her quizzes, with a laser-focused dedication to master the material. She attends class every single day, always coming in on time. And most importantly, she brings the best attitude. The moment you speak with her, you can tell that it’d be hard to wipe a smile off her face.

“I’m so happy to be here. Our class is like a large family. We laugh every day. We help each other every day. We have study groups to support one another on the weekends — even our instructor Mr. Miao attends. Everyone is invested in the success of everyone else.” The feeling is mutual — we couldn’t be happier to have her in our Per Scholas family, too.

Yulonda graduated with her son and fellow classmates from the second class of Per Scholas Columbus on April 12 (see pictures). From now on, if you have a problem with your computer, just call the Stevens’ house. Someone there will likely be able to fix it.

Return to read other Student of the Month features.

We are grateful to have met Sara Yarbrough. A reminder of how deeply the work at Per Scholas matters, she is an inspiration to anyone, no matter their walk of life. Sara graduated February 13 with the current all-women’s class and she is our student of the month. “Sara is my greatest achievement,” Jose Jurado, the class’ Career Development instructor says with emotion in his eyes. “A night and day difference from when she came here 15 weeks ago. The most improved student ever, by far.”

Sara came to New York City at the age of 18 from Honduras to fulfill the American Dream, to be something, be more. She had fire in her belly to achieve great things but like many who move to New York with the big dream, a bumpy road is often what greets us. “I was working retail and so unfulfilled. I snapped out of it one day and said, ‘Sara, you are not here to do retail. You came to be somebody.’” Who would have thought the Persian Gulf War would inspire her next move?

In 1991 she joined the United States Army. She met her future husband, got married, and started a family which now includes two children she adores. She later completed her bachelor’s degree and continued with the Army. In 2004 she was shipped out for an 18 month tour in Iraq. Her job? Human Intelligence Collector (also known as an interrogator). A heavy, taxing job for a wife and mother to two, we have no doubt. She finished her service and returned to civilian life.

“Readjusting was hard. I had lost my rhythm, I couldn’t just return to my life,” she pauses, and with noticeable hesitation adds, “I had to go through post-traumatic stress treatment, to therapy.” Her marriage also crumbled after she returned from active duty and ended shortly after. And it was not just because Sara was going through a hard time. She shared, with difficulty, she had been in an abusive relationship. “He never physically hit me, it wasn’t physical, but I swear, the emotional abuse I think is just as bad. He would tell me I was a good for nothing, a piece of (expletive removed). He would spit in my face. And that was all I heard, so I believed it,” she pauses, “If I did not have children, I would not be alive.”

Since her return from active duty in 2005, and while raising her children as a single mother following her divorce, Sara has been battling a deep and all-consuming depression. “I have tried for seven years to get my life back on track. I tried going back to school for my master’s and just lost myself. I was drowning, face down in water — and it wasn’t until I found Per Scholas that I was ever brought up for air.”

Through the Veterans Affairs center she found Per Scholas late last year. She put all her hope and energy into believing that Per Scholas was going to be the turning point in her life. “I was not going to quit, I was not going to fail. I couldn’t because my daughter and son deserve to see that I am a success story so they don’t repeat what happened to me.”

In her first few weeks at Per Scholas, Sara could not get through the day (or even the morning) without breaking into tears. The years of emotional abuse and the scars from fighting in a war had settled deeply into her core. The training staff responded, giving Sara the support she needed to break this cycle for good.

“Mr. Jurado gave me a book called Your Erroneous Zones when he saw the state I was in — after I had broken down crying to him for the, I don’t know, tenth time in a row,” she laughs now. “He would tell me over and over again that I had to stop listening to that negative voice in me and break it down.” She speaks triumphantly, “This would not have worked anywhere else. Nowhere else provided the support, the caring, the safe environment to get me out of this place. Per Scholas is my rebirth.”

Sara’s IT Instructor, Maureen Monaghan, threw as much work at Sara as she could take. The need to be busy and remain focused and never slow down was key to Sara’s progress. She would stay late until the school closed, and Ms. Monaghan would stick around until then, too.

The dress code at Per Scholas forced Sara to retire the uniform she had been wearing for seven years: jeans and a t-shirt. At Per Scholas, professional attire is required — our students have to treat class like they are coming into work. “I was so uncomfortable the first several days wearing these clothes. I felt people were looking at me. And the truth is they were looking at me, so I realized I had to change and play this role and act how I was dressed because, in reality, I am being evaluated. So I changed.”

Being in an all-women’s class contributed to her transformation as well, she says. From her long past in the military, Sara was always “hanging with the boys” and always felt drawn to and more comfortable in that environment. Here, among women, she was forced to evaluate herself and evaluate other women. “When I saw something in another classmate that I didn’t like, I realized for the first time — I didn’t like it because it was a reflection of me, it was a shortcoming of mine. And we were here to change that. Women are so strong and we never give ourselves the credit.”

How someone can break a seven year cycle of depression in 15 weeks is still astounding to us. But the transformation is undeniable. Sara is already A+ certified prior to her graduation, in final interviews with a handful of prospective employers, and she is finishing what she started for the first time in years.

“I have not seen this Sara in so long and it is so good to see her again. I am back to the strong person I came [to New York City] being. I have found myself again and I say to the world, ‘Try and stop me now.’”

UPDATE: Sara Yarbrough was hired by the New York Stock Exchange’s U.S. Veteran Associate Program and began her role on June 3, 2013. She will be providing telecomm support on the infamous trading floor. This is the first time the company has hired a Per Scholas graduate. Sara is making history — for Per Scholas and, most importantly, herself. We could not be more excited.