The end of August marked the beginning of a new chapter for our Cybersecurity and Information Technology students as they celebrated their graduation. Based at the Isaacs Center, this training program is part of a partnership between our Education & Workforce program and Per Scholas, a nonprofit with a mission of increasing diversity in technology.
The graduation took place at the Barclays Investment Bank in Midtown with students from across the five boroughs and featured inspiring speeches from leaders of Barclays and S&P Global. Chiara Blengini was one of the two recipients from the Isaacs Center to be honored with a special citation: the Service Award. She was as surprised as anybody; she said her class was so focused on passing their exams that she completely forgot about it.
“It was a lot of studying, a lot work, we had to put in the work, but I feel like we had all the resources to be successful,” she said. She added that her entire class passed thanks to the instructors and all the work the students did beyond the classroom, from study groups to just encouraging each other. Blengini, who heard about the IT and Cybersecurity program through word of mouth, now plans to visit her family before getting back to studying through the alumni courses and looking for work.
“This is an amazing program,” said Miguel Angel Iglesias, instructor at the Isaacs Center. “It is completely free, all you have to do is give us your time, and we can help you achieve many great things.”
Click here to find out more about Per Scholas at the Isaacs Center.