Melika Arebo

Melika Arebo is a mother of two, originally from Ethiopia. She studied Civil Engineering in Ethiopia but decided to pursue a different career path in the US. During her work as a Civil Engineer, Melika was exposed to a lot of tech. She was really drawn to how technology made life easier for her and those around her, and decided to pursue a career in IT.

Unsure of which path she wanted to follow in the vast IT field, Melika began taking various courses to find her niche. She earned her CompTIA A+ certification and was looking for entry-level tech jobs when she was contacted by a TEKsystems recruiter, who told her about Per Scholas.

Melika had developed an interest in the Cloud, and Per Scholas' Data Center course seemed like the perfect fit for her. She researched the program and ended up applying. "I loved the concept that Per Scholas was giving no-cost education to people who might not be able to do it the traditional way," Melika recalled. "…I read stories of past learners and their success encouraged me…I also liked that the course had in-person classes."

The course was initially very tough for Melika, who had a limited background in IT. However, her instructors and classmates inspired her and kept her going. "It was difficult at first because it was completely new information to me," Melika said. "The one thing that really kept me going was my instructors. We had two female instructors, and I was really intrigued by that because you don't see women doing so well in tech every day. I was really motivated by them."

By week two, Melika had fallen in love with the material and solidified her desire to stay and grow in her particular career path. She also found the professional development portion of the course to be extremely helpful. "I didn't know how to write certain things, how to say things professionally, or what to give priority to and how to highlight my experiences," Melika reflected.

"I was really struggling. [The instructor] gave us such valuable knowledge. It was very interactive, and she would let us choose what we wanted to work on that day… There was also a discussion station and mock interviews with recruiters. That really boosted my confidence. Even though it was a short experience, I really learned and progressed in my ability to communicate with others."

After graduating, Melika worked as a Data Center Technician on contract through TEKsystems.

She currently works as a Business Intelligence Engineer at BigBear.ai.