A celebration of the symbiotic relationship between education and industry…
This collaboration from MassTLC & Per Scholas spotlights the stories of rising stars from member companies Bullhorn and Slalom, shedding light on the transformative power of Per Scholas and the remarkable advantages of hiring its graduates.
Listen to the experiences of these tech trailblazers, Fabio Benoit and Hiba Abbaker, to learn more about the value Per Scholas graduates bring to the workforce, enhancing not only the companies that employ them but the broader Massachusetts tech ecosystem as a whole.
Fabio Benoit graduated from the Software Engineering Full Stack Developer training in March 2022 and is now a Technical Support Analyst within the Analytics Department at MassTLC community member Bullhorn Inc. Fabio did not always see tech in his future, but his childhood shaped him to be driven and change the narrative of his life. He was a first-generation Haitian-American and Boston-native, with his parents falling into addiction early in his life, resulting in his grandparents raising him and his two older siblings. Fabio reflected that this experience in his life inspired him to want to go down a different path, one that was successful and a result of intellect and hard work.
In high school, Fabio joined the wrestling team, which inspired him to dream of a career in Mixed Martial Arts. Given the capital needed to do so, Fabio enlisted in the National Guard as a 68W Combat Medic following high school graduation, obtaining his NREMT certification. While working at a hospital, he was injured while training to prepare for a Mixed Martial Arts fight and knew he had to reevaluate his professional future. He saw a Facebook ad about Software Engineering and considered how to obtain the experience and certifications for that industry.
In 2018, Fabio began teaching himself Javascript through Udemy and continued working small jobs until he heard about Per Scholas in 2021. He applied and started his training in November 2021. Fabio recalls his affinity for electronics, “having immigrant grandparents raising me, they had a hard time setting up their internet and other electronics, and I would find great joy in reading instructions and learning about the equipment.” Throughout his rigorous training, he learned HTML, CSS, JAVAScript, Git, SQL, and much more. “The course work was in-depth and rigorous,” he reflected. “With a strong work ethic and time management skills, it is doable.”
Following graduation, Fabio started his job at Bullhorn, Inc. as a Technical Support Analyst.
Learning about the application development process has helped him understand the flow of data and how the products integrate within the Bullhorn ATS system, and he credits part of his experience and success to Per Scholas Greater Boston’s training. “I would hire a Per Scholas graduate because the learners know what it means to work hard when you have all the odds against you,” he stated.
“Per Scholas Alumni are dedicated and determined to live a different life – we are innovative, persistent, and relentless.” – Fabio benoit
Hiba Abbaker is also a Per Scholas Greater Boston alumni who graduated from the AWS re/Start training in January 2021 and is now working for a MassTLC member company Slalom_Build. She had previous experience in tech through computer science in Sudan, and always had an interest in tech growing up. “Tech was so cool; the more you knew, the more you wanted to learn, so it was so logical to me to study computer science in college,” she recalls.
Following the start of the pandemic, Hiba moved to Boston but had difficulty finding employment. Her research for additional tech training landed her on an ad for Per Scholas, where she applied for the AWS re/Start training and was accepted. Hiba reflected that her training was life-changing and entailed more than she expected, “It was more than cloud computing training; it included database, networking, programming, and professional development training.”
Soon after graduating, Hiba accepted a position at Slalom_Build as a Platform Engineer, where she implements reusable tools and self-service capabilities with automated infrastructure (on the cloud) operations, improving the developer experience and productivity. The intensive five-months training at Per Scholas helped her gain the confidence and experience to transition to a cloud computing job from her computer programming background. When it comes to why companies should hire Per Scholas technologists, Hiba exclaimed,
“Per Scholas training is based on collaborative work, so all the graduates are great team players. They have problem-solving skills, they are professionals, and their technical training equips them with the necessary tech skills for the job.” – Hiba Abbaker
Fabio and Hiba are two of the more than 600 Per Scholas Greater Boston graduates that have started their careers in tech from training including Software Engineering, AWS re/Start, IT Support, Cybersecurity, and more. In collaboration with partners like MassTLC, Per Scholas technologists are launching their careers in tech, and unlocking potential for themselves, their companies, and the Greater Boston community.
Per Scholas Greater Boston is proud to partner with MassTLC, the largest tech community in Massachusetts, to amplify our training and connect our technologists with leading businesses in the local tech community. Many Per Scholas Greater Boston alumni have transitioned from learner, to alumni, to technologist at a member company within MassTLC, helping to create career and economic equity in the region.
