This year, technology services company Accenture hired 20 paid apprentices in California – 10 in San Francisco, and 10 in Los Angeles. One of them is Calbright student Alicia Rangel.
A year ago, Alicia said she was a shut-in, driven into isolation by the pandemic. But she’d always wanted to get into the tech industry and have a meaningful career. She was looking for a way forward.
It’s taken less than a year of working with Calbright to change everything.
“I feel like my life has done a complete 180 since I started Calbright,” she said. “When I started here it was me at a dog day care, hoping and wishing for more. Just wanting to do a lot more. Now I feel like I can’t even remember struggling with figuring out what I wanted to do, and finding a path that is right for me. Now it’s like ‘wow,’ I just feel completely transformed with a new sense of purpose. I’m contributing to the world instead of just being at home and inside with my dog.”
Immediately after enrolling with Calbright, she worked with the college’s Career Services team to find a new, better job: a helpdesk technician at a hospital. She wasn’t working at a tech company, but she had a technology job that she liked. She completed Calbright’s IT Support program and applied for the College’s ExLL internship, where students help mentor and support other students while getting real-world experience in technology application.
That experience, Alicia said, was key to her being selected for this high profile apprenticeship.
“I was really nervous when I had the interview, because I didn’t really know how I would fit in there,” she said. “But everything I was doing at my ExLL program at Calbright was what they were asking for with the apprenticeship at Accenture, you know? They asked: ‘Make a Powerpoint and try to sell me on this product?’ And I was like: ‘All right, let me make a Powerpoint over Slack because I’ve been doing that already,’ and they really liked it! They asked me ‘Are you sure you don’t have a degree?’ And I was like ‘Yeah, I don’t! But I have great mentors here!’”
Alicia benefitted from Calbright’s Workforce and Partnerships program, which engages with industry professionals and employers to help our students find in-demand, livable wage employment opportunities. “We host exclusive virtual events in collaboration with Calbright’s Career Services program and send student referrals to our partners,” said Nhi Tran, Calbright’s Employment Development Coordinator. “We are thrilled that Alicia has been accepted into Accenture’s coveted apprenticeship program. We’re always looking for opportunities that our students can take advantage of.”
Alicia found out she’d gotten the paid apprenticeship just a week later. “It all went really fast!” And she’s thrilled that now, with Calbright’s support, she is starting her dream of fully entering the tech industry, and having a whole new career.
Alicia definitely feels good about the opportunities that have come her way. “The role title is Technology Consultant, so I’m super excited!” she said. “This is what I’m studying for, this is what I’ve been trying to get into, and now an open door is here.”
