AT&T Launches Community-Based Digital Navigators

NPower is excited to partner with AT&T to launch Community Helpdesks in St. Louis and Dallas this summer. We are committed to serving these communities to bridge the digital divide. This is so important to us as according to a 2020 survey conducted by Deutsche Bank, 76% of Black respondents and 62% of Hispanic respondents feel unprepared for jobs that require digital skills. This could stem from not having reliable access to the Internet, owning faulty tools or hardware, or not knowing enough to troubleshoot errors. The solution we’re providing is training a select group of our NPower students to become Digital Navigators and mobilizing them to serve their respective communities to get everyone connected!

Read more from AT&T here

NPower Texas is well underway in Houston!

Can you imagine a 16-week, intense training class, all geared toward getting you a high-paying job in tech? And it’s not going to cost you anything – no tuition, no books and you don’t even need a computer! Thanks to a free class offered by Harris County and NPower, what seems like a dream – is very much a reality.

As featured here on Click2Houston.com.

From Trailer Park to App Development – NPower Michigan success story from alum Dezmond Blair

From Trailer Park to App Development | NPower Michigan Alum Dezmond Blair | Detroit Free Press

Carol Cain of the Detroit Free Press interviewed Dezmond Blair, Fall 2022 alum from NPower Michigan, about his journey from growing up in a trailer park and getting his first computer at age 12 by building it from spare parts to graduating from the Tech Fundamentals program at age 21 and getting into the Apple Developer Academy.

Growing up was definitely not easy as both his parents had him very young as high school dropouts. They both worked very hard to raise Dezmond and his brother, but they bounced around a few mobile home parks along the way.

““I struggled with my own identity a long time. I never really knew what I’d like to do growing up and even teachers told me to ‘be realistic’ when I talked about my future.”

He knew he wanted to pursue a degree, but he couldn’t afford his bachelor’s. So after getting an associate’s in computer programming, Dezmond found NPower to supplement his training. Through the Tech Fundamentals program, he not only completed 3 CompTIA Certifications, but he also completed Google Project Management Certificate and practiced app coding. In fact, one of the projects Dezmond had developed is an app that helps Alzheimer’s patients remember their families by mimicking TikTok’s scrolling UI and pairing pictures and videos of loved ones with names and music that can trigger memories. So naturally, his next step was entering the Apple Developer Academy and a month-long iOS bootcamp so he can further develop his burgeoning portfolio of work.

“What I love about NPower is that it’s great for connecting with others. NPower is the only reason that I got into the Apple Developer Academy, especially as the recruiter was also an NPower alum! I’m looking forward to hopefully working at Apple as I go through the academy and bootcamp.”

See full article below and link to the story:

 

https://www.freep.com/story/money/business/columnists/carol-cain/2023/03/18/npower-michigan-detroit-regional-dollars-scholars-program-internship-scholarship/70011152007/