Celebration of Impact Luncheon

Fall 2019 graduate Traci was first introduced to the ITWorks program in 2018 when her mother brought home an ITWorks flyer. Traci’s younger sister, Summer, decided to apply and was accepted into the fall 2018 class. Prior to Summer’s enrollment, she was working full-time in retail making $10.25 an hour and believed that the ITWorks program would be an opportunity to expand her IT knowledge and her professional network. Summer thrived during the program, completed her internship with the City of Las Vegas, earned both her Cisco IT Essentials and CompTIA A+ certifications, all at no cost to her. Shortly after graduation and completing her extended internship with the City of Las Vegas, Summer secured employment with Robert Half Technologies as a Help Desk Technician and was recently promoted to a Tier II Technician. 

 After witnessing her younger sister’s success, Traci decided to apply to the ITWorks fall 2019 class. Unemployed at the time of her acceptance into the program, Traci’s background and passion was in the digital arts. Her ultimate goal is to marry her passion of art and technology and secure employment working with interactive media. Traci also thrived during the program, completed her internship with the Golden Nugget Hotel & Casino, and earned both her Cisco IT Essentials and CompTIA A+ certifications. Following in her younger sister’s footsteps, Traci secured employment with Robert Half Technologies shortly after graduation as a Tier 1 Technician.  

 Both sisters remain active in Tech Impact’s Alumni Ambassador Program and make it a priority to give back to current and future ITWorks students. 

Spring 2019 graduate Jovany doubled his income when he secured a full-time position as a Helpdesk Technician at ISHPT. Prior to ITWorks, Jovany was working part-time in retail as a sales associate. He thrived during the program, completed his internship with the City of Las Vegas and earned both his Cisco IT Essentials and CompTIA A+ certifications, at no cost to him. 

Jovany was selected by his classmates to speak at the ITWorks graduation. He took the opportunity to share why the ITWorks program was important to him and so many like him. “In some cases college isn’t an option and just working a regular 9-5 isn’t good enough. Some of us just had nowhere to turn, and through all those closed doors and no end in sight, there was one door open and in reach. Tech Impact was there to reach out and pull us in. Because in their eyes we’re not people that just make excuses about not having money to go to college, they see that there is a struggle to not just study but sometimes just even to find work. In Tech Impact’s eyes they saw potential and saw that we have the courage and hunger to go head to head with others that were able to go to college, and they believe that we have the ability to come out on top, because they know it’s not always easy and they know where we come from.”   

Andrea was born in San Bernardino, California and moved with her family to Puebla, Mexico until the age of 14. Andrea returned to the U.S. to attend high school and graduated from Desert Pines High School in 2019. After graduation, Andrea was unsure if she wanted to pursue a college degree or enter the workforce, but wanting to be a role model for her younger siblings, realized that her choice would be important. 

 When a good friend, and recent CXWorks graduate, recommended that she apply for the CXWorks program she knew that she needed to take this opportunity. Andrea shared, “I was very excited to apply and get into CXWorks. I wanted to prove to myself that I’m capable of achieving [the goals] in my life.”  

  Since beginning the CXWorks program, Andrea has built up her confidence, made new friends, and increased the number of people in her network. She has learned the professional and soft skills necessary to secure employment and succeed in the contact center customer service sector.   

  Andrea completed the CXWorks program in March and though she struggled to find employment right after graduation, due to the COVID-19 health pandemic, she persevered and secured a full-time position with RDI as a Customer Service Representative. 

Spring 2019 CXWorks graduate, Ronald, was born in El Salvador, but raised in Las Vegas. He joined the workforce immediately after graduating from high school to help his family financially and to pay for college, however, was forced to put his educational goals to the side to focus on his family.   

 During this difficult time in his life, his cousin encouraged him to look into the program that she had just completed earlier in 2019, CXWorks. According to Ronald, “At first, I was very skeptical, it sounded too good to be true. It’s a free, two-month program that teaches you how to ace an interview, they feed you twice a week and put you in contact with outstanding companies looking for outstanding people. And they pay you weekly?” After speaking with CXWorks staff members who felt that he would be a perfect fit for this amazing opportunity, he accepted the offer to join the Spring 2019 CXWorks session.  

 Ronald was selected by his classmates to speak at the CXWorks graduation on July 26. He shared, “I know that my classmates and I will exercise and practice everything we’ve learned, to push ourselves onward, to achieve our goals and fulfill our dreams.” Shortly after graduation, he secured a full-time Customer Service Representative position with Ameriprise and doubled his annual earnings.