“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” – Marty Rodgers of Accenture quoting Margaret Mead in his keynote address at the inaugural Beta Bash 1.0.

October 7, Per Scholas welcomed more than 100 guests — including alumni, partners, employers, and our biggest fans — to the Fillmore in downtown Silver Spring for the first ever Beta Bash 1.0.

Amid the networking and celebration, guests got a hands-on experience of the Per Scholas training by taking the Tech Challenge, a series of challenges developed from the Per Scholas curriculum and administered by the students walking guests through each challenge: Defeat the Board (how to reset a password account), Perfect Your Pitch (deliver your personal job interview pitch) and Connect the World (how to setup a network). Completing the challenge successfully was marked with a formal graduation token, a Per Scholas lapel pin which each student receives upon graduating from the Per Scholas training.

The live program was opened by graduate Chrystal Banks who captivated the audience with her through college, to motherhood, to Per Scholas, and now to a spot in the General Assembly web developer course on a full scholarship. She eloquently relayed the importance of supporting organizations like Per Scholas, saying, “Your being here is so powerful. Your being here matters. It creates opportunity. It changes lives.” You can read her full remarks here.

Chrystal was followed by keynote speaker Marty Rodgers, Managing Director of Accenture and Accenture Federal Services. He began, “Like Chrystal, it is my fondest hope that my children will grow up to change the world. If we bet on people like Bridgette Gray and we bet on organizations like Per Scholas, and we have courage to collaborate, we can change communities.” Marty inspired the crowd with his person story of his name, explaining that a name defines who and what you are. Per Scholas, he emphasized, means “through education”; and through education, we can achieve anything.

Marty was followed by Managing Director Bridgette Gray, who was glowing from the outpouring of support from the local community. In addition to thanking partners and supporters, Bridgette awarded two organizations, Dynamic Network Solutions (DNS) and MagView each as a Corporate Partner of the Year. Collectively the two firms have hired 20% of the NCR graduates. Accepting the award on behalf of DNS, Jason Coke shared with the crowd, “As a small business, it’s really hard to find talent. Per Scholas has changed the way we hire. We get high quality candidates on a consistent basis.”

Bridgette then announced the news of Per Scholas and partner Symantec launching a cybersecurity training track for veterans in the National Capital Region in the coming year. Symantec has made a substantial investment in the project as a part of its Cyber Career Connection (SC3) initiative earning them the Innovator of the Year which was accepted by Cheri McGuire of Symantec. Bridgette presented the award with, “Innovation is hard. It’s easy to avoid. It’s easy to say no. It’s hard to put skin in the game and say yes. It is a huge honor to recognize Symantec for saying yes to innovation.”

The program was closed by Per Scholas National Capital Region Advisory Board Chair Ed Glabus who rallied the crowd to get involved with Per Scholas in specific ways:

• Connect with Per Scholas on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn
• Invest in our training
• Volunteer time to work with students to build their professional development
• Hire our graduates like the 50+ other companies in the NCR
• Become a thought partner and help lead Per Scholas to the next phase of growth
• Join our local advisory board to use your leadership to build the future of Per Scholas

There was undeniable enthusiasm from a strong community of champions to expand the impact of Per Scholas well into the future. We thank all of our sponsors — Symantec, Accenture, Capital One, Catholic Charities, Dynamic Network Solutions, IronBow, and MagView; our advisory board, local staff, the event team at The Event Studio, and all the people who showed up to support the work we do.

We will be posting the photos from the evening as well as the photobooth on our Facebook page by next week.

To get involved in our work, you can go to perscholas.org or contact Managing Director Bridgette Gray at [email protected].

Per Scholas National Capital Region graduate Chrystal Banks opened up the Beta Bash 1.0 with a speech about her journey into technology through Per Scholas.

See a copy of her remarks below.

GOOD EVENING!

It is such an honor to be kicking off the first-ever Beta Bash event in support of Per Scholas.

My name is Chrystal Banks and I am a Per Scholas graduate.

Can all my fellow tech nerds make some noise?!

I am incredibly passionate about technology and I don’t even know where to begin to express what Per Scholas means to me.

I grew up here in the DMV. As a kid, I was really close to my dad. Anything he was doing, I wanted to do. He was always fixing every electronic device that existed. Computer systems, gaming systems, sound systems, you name it. We weren’t rich but somehow managed to always have the latest technology!

It was the 90s. New technology was hot.

My first computer had a Windows ‘95 OS and I will never forget it.

This is how I first started to learn technology. I would hook things up with my dad. Everything he did I was right there with him.

He would be really proud of me.

When I went to college, it wasn’t obvious for me to study technology. I was 18, I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life yet. So I studied sociology because it interested me, but I had no idea what I was going to do with a degree in Sociology.

After my freshman year on campus I hit a few rough patches and had to take some time off.

I’d work retail, places like Starbucks, H&M. … Jobs just to fulfill my immediate needs.

But I knew I could do better for myself. This was a very discouraging time for me and I know some of you can relate.

After some years off, I went back to school focused and ready to plan for the rest of my life. I was a junior college … when I had my beautiful son Eli.

Being a new mother, full-time student, and working to pay the bills became too much. I once again had to stop my classes.

During this time I shared a small apartment with my mother, three siblings, and my son. My room was a very tiny den.

It was a really rough time. And I had no idea how to get past it. Lost and depressed doesn’t even begin to describe how I felt.

I was attending an information session for jobs with the Census Bureau when someone came in to talk about a different opportunity.

A training that would teach me technology skills, provide me IT certifications, and help me launch a career in tech —- And it was FREE.

I think I might have asked the guy a hundred questions.

The program was Per Scholas. I will never forget this day.

You ask the world to give you signs … and this was my sign.

My dad passed away a few years before —- and I just knew … I just felt this had to be his sign. And I knew that this was my opportunity. Nothing was going to stop me.

I’ve never been so motivated, I applied the same day!

The day I got accepted to Per Scholas was one of the best days of my life. The life I wanted to create for myself and my son.

I am sure you can hear the passion in my voice and that passion was met by everyone at Per Scholas. My fellow classmates. My instructor. The entire staff.

Everyone was there learning from the beginning together and we supported one another along the way.

Once we graduated and we all began to interview for jobs, I’d get a text from everyone wishing me luck. Even Bridgette would send me notes of encouragement.

With every discouraging moment, there was a community to keep me lifted up.

It wasn’t long after I graduated that I landed my first job in tech at Strayer University as a tier 1 Help Desk technician. From there I have gone on to work for ICMA-RC’s Help Desk.

I’m great at my job! I take pride in what I do.

Coming in with the basic skills Per Scholas gave me, it’s up to me to take the initiative to build on that, and I’ve done that. I ask questions. Beyond tier 1, I want to know everything.

And I am so happy and blessed that I get to continue learning. ON MONDAY I will begin a course at General Assembly to become a web developer —- and I got a full scholarship.

Sometimes I can’t believe it.

I’ve been doing the pre-work for the course and I’m knocking it out of the park!

When I get home from work, my fingers are itching to get to programming. I love every minute of learning to use Github, ruby rails, terminal… I cannot wait until my first day!

In tech —- and in life —- you have to constantly grow. The moment you stay still is the moment you stop your success.

I am my son’s role model. I want to provide him a great education and a better life. He is so smart, and I want to nurture that.

He’s only been here for two years and we spent most of that time living in a den with no windows and no door. I know he won’t remember that, and I don’t want him to. I want him to have a normal childhood, carefree and not grow up worrying about having food on the table.

I want to avoid that struggle at all cost —- and I am closer and closer to that point and have never been so confident.

Per Scholas really changes lives.

I cannot emphasize that point enough.

I am smart. I am extremely hard working. I just didn’t know where to go or what to do to begin and put my potential in action. My situation is not unusual. There are so many like me and we just need that door opened —- and we are ready to sprint through it.

I found Per Scholas and I am flying.

Your being here is so powerful. Your being here matters. It creates opportunity. It changes lives.

It is such a honor to be here tonight. I get the honor of acknowledging those of you who helped to make my opportunities possible. Accenture and Symantec, our presenting sponsors tonight. Thank you! Also supporting tonight are Capital One, Catholic Charities, DNS, Iron Bow and Magview. We so appreciate your collaboration.

I also want to recognize the Per Scholas board and host committee who helped make tonight possible. Thank you.

What I go on to achieve will be in part because you believed in me. And I cannot say thank you enough.

Thank you all and thank you Per Scholas!

LaQuana, age 23, walked confidently into the Park Avenue offices of Kate Spade New York to meet with the Director of the Kate Spade & Co Foundation, Valerie Biberaj. The Kate Spade & Co Foundation is a long-time funder of the Per Scholas Women in Tech course, the course from which LaQuana is a graduate. LaQuana received the personal invitation from Valerie after they met at the Per Scholas New York spring gala.

LaQuana took it in as she walked through the halls. The walls were colorful, the office sophisticated, and not to mention, everyone was dressed gorgeously. LaQuana thought to herself, Wow.

Just a few months before, LaQuana was unemployed and disabled. She was working retail and going to college for Public Administration when she had a fall and dislocated her kneecap. LaQuana could not work or go to school, and was immobile for more than six months. These challenges were increasingly trying because she also had a 5-year-old son to care for at home.

“For those six months, I was so depressed,” she says.

This wasn’t the first bridge that LaQuana crossed. When she was very young, she lost both her parents and entered the foster care system along with her siblings. They were split up and placed in different homes in New York City for the remainder of her childhood.

“I’ve had to grow up really fast. But the key is a positive attitude.”

So, that’s what she did. She researched opportunities for kids in foster care, and found that she could get funding for her college education. “A part of being in the [foster care] situation is learning how to make the most of it,” she says. “I learned what I needed to survive.”

LaQuana’s knee injury, however, prevented her from graduating college and she found herself again on an unpredictable path. She needed to figure out what to do with her life, her career, and her family.

“I needed a place to start. I needed to focus on my future,” she says. At this time, her sister told her about Per Scholas, a tech school located not far from her home in the Bronx. A spark was ignited; LaQuana applied immediately.

At Per Scholas, LaQuana joined the Women in Tech class, an all-women cohort of the IT Support course. She found the camaraderie among her fellow female technologists helpful and comforting.

“All the women stuck together. It was wonderful.”

She especially loved her instructors, Jose Jurado her Career Coach, and Opo Herrera her tech instructor. Jose’s style of teaching is tough, she shares, but he was also a strong male role model in her life. “Jose was like a father figure to me. He showed me I could do it.”

She graduated, got certified, and was ready to take on the tech world. “I loved everything from the beginning to the end,” she says.

LaQuana got a call for an opportunity she could not pass up: a two-year apprenticeship with Barclays. After a grueling all-day interview, she was accepted.

She gushes, “Working for Barclays is like a dream come true. I get to provide quality service to bankers and other people in the bank. This position was chosen for me. It just fits perfectly.”

After a roller coaster of ups and downs, LaQuana is now stable and better than ever. “I have a car. I have an income to support myself and my son,” she shares. “My experience has opened my mind up to a lot of things. Per Scholas enlightened me and now I can enlighten others. There’s always a way up and out.”

Flash forward to LaQuana’s visit with Kate Spade & Co Foundation. She was wowed by them. They were wowed by her, too. That day, LaQuana spoke in front of the entire board of the Foundation at the request of Valerie.

“I am willing to do all that I can to help the success of more women joining the IT field,” she says.

Now, she and Valerie talk regularly. LaQuana looks forward to what the future will bring.

“It can’t get any worse for me, it can only get better. I am so excited and happy for the future.”

In the evenings, Per Scholas graduate Angelica sits outside her home and watches her children play in her yard. On the weekends, they go swimming, play together, and enjoy spending time together.

To say that Angelica’s life has changed dramatically since she graduated Per Scholas is an understatement.

On December 26, 2012, the single mother and her three children were forced to move out of their apartment. They had nowhere to go; they were homeless.

At the time, Angelica was unemployed with little hope for the future. She had spent her career in the healthcare field, but was unemployable because of a back injury. “I felt helpless…hopeless, even,” she says.

She moved herself and her children into her grandmother’s one-room basement. Although she had a roof over her head, things were looking bleak. She had spent her career in healthcare and all she had to show for it was debt and disappointment.

One day Angelica’s father gave her a flyer for Per Scholas. He encouraged her to apply, convincing her that she has always had a knack for technology. Angelica was skeptical; she had no experience in IT. “How can I do this? I didn’t even have a laptop. Everything was gone in my life,” she says.

After checking out the Per Scholas website, Angelica decided to give it a try. What did she have to lose?

When she walked into Per Scholas, her life was forever changed. “I fell in love with the opportunity and the many doors that were opened to me. Per Scholas was a life changer and a life saver.”

While enrolled in the Per Scholas IT Support course, busy was her new norm. And that was a good thing. Every day, she would take her two eldest kids to school, and drop her 14-month old daughter at a family member’s house. She would go to school at Per Scholas, take care of her kids at night, and study after they went to bed. Rinse and repeat. “My days were long,” she says. “A lot of times I felt overwhelmed. There was so much going on in my life. I was taking on something completely new to me. I had never done anything in technology. There were times that I felt that I wasn’t going to do this.”

Fortunately, her classmates, instructors, and Per Scholas staff provided a strong community of support. While in training, one of her classmates actually purchased her a laptop so she could do her assignments at home. Her instructor, James Miao, came in on Saturdays to help the class stay on top of the material. Robin Green, Workforce Development Coordinator, put her in touch with places for her and her kids to live. “Everyone kept telling me, ‘‘You are not going to do this alone.’ It was like a family.”

On top of learning the tech skills necessary to secure a job, the Per Scholas course connects its students with industry professionals from our corporate partners. Volunteers from Per Scholas Signature Partner Nationwide Insurance spoke to her class. She says once she heard from Nationwide, she knew: “That’s where I want to work.”

Angelica graduated Valedictorian of her class. After graduation, she found work with Garden City Group working in the call center. She also went back for her Net+ certification.

Even though the work at Garden City was good, she didn’t want to give up on Nationwide just yet. After graduation, Robin paired her with mentor from Nationwide, Lori King, Assistant Vice President of IT Infrastructure. Angelica met with Lori one morning and they immediately clicked. Lori saw what Angelica saw in herself: a smart and passionate IT professional. Angelica interviewed for a position at Nationwide and started soon after.

She has worked at the company for almost a year as a Contractor and is currently interviewing for a permanent position. At Nationwide, she works with many Per Scholas alums. Her community of support has followed her.

“I have so much confidence now and so much hope. Per Scholas is going to revolutionize our country. It’s such a valid and viable program.”

Two months after working at Nationwide, Angelica was able to save all her money and start renting a four-bedroom single family home for her and her kids.

“I now get to get out and just enjoy life. It’s a much better life for my children. There’s so much I can offer my children now after Per Scholas. This is not a temporary thing. I feel like things are just going to get better,” she says.

So what’s next for Angelica? She hopes to be able to learn more about programming so that she can build technology to help single and working mothers. For someone who has overcome hurdle after hurdle, the sky’s the limit.

“Per Scholas was my light at the end of a long, dark tunnel and I am infinitely grateful for the fresh start I got after completing the course.”

Naya, Per Scholas graduate, embodies the go-getter spirit that will continue to revolutionize the tech industry for years to come. Just as many trailblazing technologists before her, Naya marches to the beat of her own drum. She built her first computer at age 8 and she’s been hooked since.

Naya grew up in New York City and has been doing odd jobs to make her own money since the age of 14. In high school, she started her own tech support business fixing cell phones–a skill she learned from watching a YouTube video when her own device broke.

After high school, Naya continued on to college studying computer science at LaGuardia Community College. Here she had her first experience with programming, participating in the Hour of Code through Codeacademy. “I fell in love. It was really fun. I got to be creative while also doing tech. It was my first interaction with coding,” she says.

After a year in college, Naya was having a hard time paying for tuition. Going to class and working odd jobs wasn’t cutting it. “I needed to move out of my mom’s house. I needed a stable job to pay for college and support myself.”

A friend told her about Per Scholas and Naya realized that she could launch the career she’s always wanted, with or without a degree.

She enrolled. The course was thorough, she says, and directly prepares an individual to become a tech professional. “I became well versed in my technical knowledge. I learned to speak the lingo and I learned the needed skills to get a job.”

During her time at Per Scholas Naya had a full plate professionally and personally. She was still taking two college courses while going to Per Scholas full time. Money was extremely tight.

“There were a lot of times when I didn’t have money to eat,” she says. Struggling to find her own place upon graduation, the Per Scholas community rallied to help her find a roof over her head and resources to make ends meet. “If I didn’t have Per Scholas, I would be homeless. If it wasn’t for them, I would just be getting by,” she says. “Per Scholas helped me get on my feet.”

Shortly after graduation, she found somewhere to live and started working three jobs: interning at the Black Car Fund; doing contract work at Peak Systems; and working as a Technical Assistant at Per Scholas.

After a few months of juggling multiple jobs, Naya found a permanent position at the American Booksellers Association as an Office Tech Support Coordinator. Now she works at Agile Networks. She has her own condo, too, just 20 minutes from her job in Times Square. That is a lot to accomplish (and overcome) at such a young age. 

“The most important thing right now is learning as much as I can in the technology field. As a woman in technology, one of the best things you can do for yourself is to make sure you are well versed and confident in what you’re doing. I want to gain as much experience as I can to move ahead, and give back.”

In the future, Naya hopes to work hard enough to be her own boss. “For the future, I know I want to have my own company. I want to do something that includes giving back and technology.”

Talk about leaning in. Sheryl Sandberg would be impressed.

As far back as she can remember, Per Scholas graduate Lisa Edwards has been a natural problem solver. Before Per Scholas, she worked many different firms including accounting, real estate, and insurance. At every placement she worked, she was a valuable asset, always finding ways to save the company money and time.

There was just one problem: at all her jobs, she was a temp. She was tired of always looking for new work, despite excelling at her temporary positions. She wanted something permanent and stable — the kind of job where she could use her well-honed problem solving skills to move up.

One afternoon shortly after being unemployed, Lisa was standing on Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn when Jeffrey Hatton, Per Scholas director of community engagement, handed her a flyer for the program. She didn’t look at it, but put it in her bag and kept walking. After a few weeks, she took a look at the flyer again, attended an information session on a Friday, and enrolled in the Women in Tech class starting the following Monday.

“I realized that everything is run on some sort of technology. If I can do this for the next 30 years, there are so many areas that I can be actively working. Technology has so many opportunities for me.”

The training at Per Scholas was just was she had been looking for. She wanted skills, real skills that would translate into a viable career. “When I first walked in on that Monday, they had the motherboards right on the desk. I was totally excited. It was so hands-on.”

Besides the technical skills, Lisa learned a lot from her fellow women classmates. “In class at Per Scholas, I learned to focus. Most women have a lot of responsibility. Their responsibility is not just financial. They are solely responsible for their household, for their family. I learned that I had to delegate things so I could focus on learning this new thing in my life.”

Upon graduating with her CompTIA A+ and Net+ certifications, Lisa landed an internship at the MTA where she worked in the Network Operations Center for 9 months. Through this internship, she gained valuable experience.

Lisa knows the power of connections, especially for women in the vast technology industry of New York City. Through attending networking events, talking to colleagues, and her contacts at Per Scholas, Lisa finished her internship at the MTA and walked straight into a job at Barclays. She is now an Analyst, where she uses her strong skill set to find patterns and solve problems on a daily basis.

This year at the first annual Bronx Tech Summit Lisa got the chance to meet Minerva Tantoco, the Chief Technology Officer of New York City. Ms. Tantoco gave Lisa a tip: a key tool in being successful in this industry is networking. Advice Lisa was already living by. “You have to have the skills, but knowing the people can get you to the front of the line.”

Her passion for women in tech sparked by her education at Per Scholas continues at Barclays. Lisa is part of the Women in Tech program at her employer where she is heavily involved in throwing networking events for women of all ages.

“I want to be a part of getting women to elevate themselves into higher positions,” she says.

She also loves Barclays because she says there’s always room to grow. “With the skills that I have and my understanding of the field, I see myself in a place where I can move up in this company.”

Lisa also commends Barclays for their involvement in the community. Through her position on the Networking Committee in the Women in Tech program there, she gets the chance to help other women follow a path to success.

“I like people. I am happy to see people grow and improve themselves. I hope to constantly improve upon myself. I like to share my positivity.”

Taariq Williams walked into Per Scholas from day one with an attitude of motivation. Tech was his passion; and he knew that Per Scholas was the chance he’d been waiting for to launch a career.

For Taariq, this chance was a long time coming. He had always loved computers, calling himself the “Gadget Guy” growing up. After he graduated high school, he applied to college and enrolled at ASA College, a for-profit institution, to study technology. He wanted to get into the industry, and thought college was the best way to get there. Unfortunately, due to financial strain, he had to drop out of college after just one year.

Even though college didn’t work out, Taariq was determined to find another way to pursue a technology career. He learned about Per Scholas through his cousin, a New York graduate, and applied. Taariq made it all the way to the final interview, the last step in a lengthy process, and was declined due to a limited number of spaces available in the class. “It was disappointing, but I had to keep going.”

Now twice discouraged, he began looking for work and took a job at the US Post Office. The pay was good, the job was stable, but something was missing. “It wasn’t skills-based work. I didn’t have a passion for it. Even though you can make a good living there, the work itself didn’t matter to me. I wanted to do something that I like doing every day.”

He stayed at the Post Office for a few months but couldn’t ignore what was driving him. He knew what he wanted. “I haven’t felt this strong about something in a long time,” he says. “I didn’t want to give up on tech.”

Many people either aren’t brave enough to reapply or they tell themselves it’s not an option. But Taariq wouldn’t take no for an answer and reapplied to Per Scholas, and proved second chances are real. He was accepted at Per Scholas in 2015 in the IT Support class.

Blown away by the quality of the education, his favorite part of the Per Scholas course was the Career Development, the portion of the training that teaches students how to job search, write an effective resume, and essential workplace skills like communication. “I knew that Per Scholas was the place for me, but when I got into the program, I was even more impressed.”

While a student, Taariq had the chance to participate in the Imagine Gala, Per Scholas New York’s biggest fundraiser of the year, where he helped to run the Tech Challenge, an interactive portion of the event’s program. Guests are walked through stations where they have to solve technical issues, like removing a virus or reconnecting a network. Students like Taariq guided them through each station. The guests learn more about what a Per Scholas student learns, and the student learns how to network and present professionally. “Per Scholas puts you in good situations that help you challenge yourself,” Taariq says.

His dedication to bettering himself while at Per Scholas didn’t go unnoticed at home. He says his mother recognized just how motivated Taariq was throughout the training and started pitching in by making him lunch every day and helping him with his transportation fare when she could. He says he really appreciated the extra support during the intense training.

Now, post graduation, Taariq works at Per Scholas corporate Partner Time Warner Cable (TWC) as a Technician where he repairs and restores internet and cable in homes. The steady paycheck is wonderful, and he gets to use his newly polished networking and communication skills every day.

“Having the stability and being able to provide for your family is the greatest thing,” he says.

He loves TWC and recognizes that the company has a lot of opportunity to move up the ladder.

A strong Per Scholas advocate, Taariq is now trying to recruit his friends to go through the program as well. “I think I can show people my story and help them,” he says. “I wouldn’t be who I am today without Per Scholas.”

“My daughter has been helpful in this process. She has kept me focused. I need to be able to provide her a better childhood.”

Family means everything to Reggie. He speaks highly and often of his mother and father. Born and raised in the Bronx, his house was the go-to spot among all of his friends growing up. “My parents were parents to all of my friends.” When Reggie became a father himself, he was raised to know to take that job seriously. “I appreciate what my parents and family gave me which motivates me to want to do better for my daughter.”

As a teenager and young adult he travelled the country performing music, and loved it. “Being on a stage. Feeding off an audience. There is nothing like it.” Reggie held down jobs around his performance schedule, usually low-paying porter and sales positions. He had his eye set on college, to begin working toward a career. Like so many, though, he couldn’t afford it and stopped taking classes after a year and a half.

His mother pointed him to Per Scholas. Because the time commitment doesn’t allow for many candidates to work and go to class simultaneously, his first reaction was, “I couldn’t do it. I needed a job. I needed money.” He took another security job instead—only to get laid off along with 40 others. The opportunity resurfaced and it was his girlfriend who pushed him and encouraged him. She told him this was an opportunity to grow. She made sacrifices, they did together, and he enrolled. “She was happier than me on my graduation day,” he laughs. “She knew the importance. She knew what this meant.” Per Scholas was an opportunity to have a career, not just a job.

Getting to the finish line and graduating was not easy for Reggie. The strict attendance policy was a daily hurdle, but one he respected to get him job ready. “You know that movie with Will Smith called the ‘Pursuit of Happyness’? That was me on some days.” Referring to the scene where Will Smith, a single parent living in a shelter, is competing in a non paid internship that could earn him a job at the company. On his way for the first day, he gets hit by a car, loses his shoe, but keeps running at a dead sprint to make it on time.

That was Reggie. To get to class, he would drop his daughter off at school in West Harlem and sprint across town to catch the east side subway to Per Scholas. Hurrying his 4-year-old daughter along, he’d explain, “Daddy has to get to school, too!” Once, he says he almost got taken out by a car… But he kept going. He would show up to class in a complete sweat, he shares.

“There were too many people at stake for me to fail. I don’t know what I would have done if I had disappointed them.” His friends and family were invested in his success. Throughout the 14 weeks of training, everyone chipped in with childcare, metro fare, meals, and motivation.

Reggie was a self-proclaimed day dreamer, at least when it came to high school and college (he specifically called out sociology: “Come on, how can you not day dream in that class?”). Class was often not interesting to him. That is why he valued what Per Scholas offered so much. “The knowledge you guys have in this building is crazy.” He is referring to the instructors who together bring decades of industry experience and are veterans of teaching. “You learn something new every day. The teaching style is delivered in a way that you can’t lose interest. You want to participate.”

When asked why technology piqued his interest, he responded with: “What year did Nintendo come out?” He laughs and continues to recall the vivid memory of the day a computer was brought home. Mavis Beacon, Jeopardy and Carmen San Diego games on a floppy disc are name dropped one after the other. AOL and dial-up internet follow. Napster music downloading. And so on. Reggie goes through the timeline and evolution of modern-day technology — memories fond to many born in the 80s. When software evolved to support music production, he taught himself everything he could. Coming to Per Scholas allowed him to take that natural curiosity and talent and make it a formal skill. He lit up about knowing the technical terms to articulate what he had been guessing for so many years.

Since graduating Reggie has wrapped up an internship with computer literacy organization IGotITToo where he teaches classes to seniors and young adults while also maintaining the labs and a contract position with Robert Half Technology. He most recently started a new position with American Dream Charter School in the Bronx as Tech Support. And of course, “I fix everyone’s computers now. Everyone comes to me.”

To sum it up super cheesy, Reggie is pursuing happiness.

Nyaisha is 21 and works at one of the largest multinational corporations in the world: Xerox. It goes without saying that Nyaisha is smart. But, she is so much more than tech smart; this girl has vision way beyond her years.

Nyaisha grew up in the Bronx with her parents and her younger brother. At age 18, when all of her friends were saying “yes” to expensive four-year colleges and universities, Nyaisha pressed pause. She knew that investing in an expensive education would be fruitless unless she truly knew what she wanted to do first.

“I know a lot of people that rushed into college because that’s what their parents wanted them to do. A lot of them dropped out or got pregnant,” she says. Success, according to Nyaisha, is about experience and skills.

Nyaisha radiates optimism and drive. Her mom and dad were young parents living in the Bronx, but still finished college and pursued careers, showing Nyaisha and her brother that hard work pays off.

In her late teens and early 20s, Nyaisha did some serious self exploration instead of jumping into college. She had always loved technology, but wasn’t sure how to get her foot in the door. “I already knew I wanted to be in the IT industry but I didn’t know how to get in without going to college.”

Instead, after graduating high school, Nyaisha enrolled in two job readiness programs that connected her with internships, but she was concerned that she wasn’t learning the hard skills needed to succeed in the competitive New York tech scene. One day she received an email from Per Scholas community partner NYCHA, the New York City Housing Authority, promoting a free A+/Net+ certification and IT job training course with job placement services. Curious and optimistic, Nyaisha jumped on the opportunity and applied to Per Scholas. Nyaisha enrolled in the Women in Tech class at Per Scholas and her journey to a career in technology was underway. She gravitated to Per Scholas’ all-women’s class because of competitive spirit. “I have always loved technology and actually like that it’s a male-dominated field. I’m competitive. I love being a girl who’s told: ‘You can’t do that’ just so I can prove them wrong.”

At Per Scholas, Nyaisha found the course challenging like most students. “Literally each day is precious. Even if you miss one day, you miss a world of information.” She enjoyed the hands-on learning environment, and recognized that the skills-based training at Per Scholas was the key to honing her tech chops and landing a permanent position in the industry.

After completing the course, Nyaisha was a certified tech — and proud of it. “Now saying that I am A+ and Net+ certified, it really means a lot.”

Upon graduation Nyaisha landed a job with Xerox. Although it was difficult transitioning into the workforce, especially navigating office culture, she now says that life is good. “I have a great rapport with all of my co-workers. I take pride in my job.”

Before Per Scholas, she was making minimum wage. Today she is working in her first-ever tech job earning three times that. Her advice for future Women in Tech grads? “No matter how hard it is, stick with it. At the end of the day, it will pay off.”

This year at the annual Robin Hood Foundation Benefit, world-renowned journalist Katie Couric took the stage in front the A-list 4,000 person audience to introduce the story of Per Scholas graduate King Oquendo. As the jumbo screens cued his story, King watched from his seat among the rest at the Benefit. “I couldn’t believe it. Katie Couric said my name!”

His story brought the house down and the spotlight went on him as he stood and waved to the crowd who was now cheering him on.