Apprenti Giving Gala a Success!

On May 18^th, WTIA held its third annual Giving Gala to raise money to help underrepresented groups transition into the tech sector via Apprenti’s registered apprenticeship program. Approximately 350 people attended, among them were hiring partners Microsoft and F5, training providers CodeFellows and TLG, representatives from community organizations, and graduated apprentices.  Thanks to the generosity of attendees, we raised $206,000, about 23% more than in 2018, which will be used to support apprentice training costs, and a portion of proceeds will be matched by the State of Washington funding appropriation.

At the event, three apprentices–Kyle Jorgenson, Aeone Singson, and Cheyo Jimenez–shared the impact of Apprenti on their lives and hopes about what they want to achieve in the future. Each of them spoke about their desire to grow in their chosen careers and their plan to mentor other apprentices, which in Cheyo’s case includes his brother Richard, who is currently a software developer apprentice at Microsoft. Aeone said, “I had my doubts about qualifying for a position in a large global corporation like Microsoft. If it wasn’t for the Apprenti program, I wouldn’t have tried to aim so high, but I now know that this is exactly where I’m supposed to be. My future plans exceed simply having a great career in tech, I want to mentor others and show them that tech apprenticeship is a life-changing option.”

Watch the inspiring video about the impact of the program on some of our apprentices’ lives here, and thank you to all who donated. If you missed the opportunity, you can still donate here. Many thanks!