Ayana Dunlap

Prior to finding Per Scholas, Ayana Dunlap had been let go from her job in hospitality due to the pandemic. As one of the youngest employees at the hotel, she was always the go-to for IT troubleshooting, which sparked her interest in technology as a career. Searching for ways to pivot, she found Per Scholas and was accepted into Per Scholas' Network Support course in the National Capital Region in Summer 2020. "Per Scholas covered pretty much everything, which was a blessing," she says.

While Ayana found the remote course challenging, she reports that support from staff and her instructor was key to success in managing the coursework and new learning material. Ayana adds that the Google IT Support credential aligned perfectly with the Per Scholas curriculum and that studying for and earning the certification made a lot of the material more familiar and accessible to her. After graduation, Ayana launched her career as a support technician at designDATA.

Ayana credits Per Scholas as a tremendous help in launching her tech career. "Without the legwork that Per Scholas put in, I wouldn't have been able to get that position, so I'm super grateful," Ayana says.