IBM’s Open P-TECH platform Help Graduating Students Through The Global Pandemic
Dailycsr.com – 29 June 2020 – Selah Bah is a seventeen year old living in Brooklyn, New York, who has not let the ongoing global pandemic “damper” her ambition. This year, she will be graduating from the “Pathways to Technology Early College High School” located in Brooklyn with her “high school diploma” as well as “associate’s degree in computer systems technology”.
Usually, students take six year for the completion of the P-TECH programme, whereas Selah managed to complete it just four years, and she is proud of it. With the help of “IBM’s Open P-TECH platform”, Selah joined virtual classes and used her extra time to earn “digital badges” in various topics like “data science and professional skills”. In Selah’s words:
“And despite not having a traditional graduation ceremony this year, I’m looking forward to the first-ever virtual graduation celebration for all U.S. P-TECH graduates from IBM affiliated schools. I will be one of 137 graduating P-TECH students from six IBM-affiliated schools in other cities like Chicago, Baltimore and elsewhere. It’s amazing to think about how those six schools are only a small part of the education and career-readiness model, with 220 schools in 24 countries. And to think that my school was the first one to be established!”
She began with P-TECH through basic coding but went on to attend “rigorous classwork and extracurricular programs like Black Girls Code” in her free time. And she recounted:
“I found myself able to code in multiple languages including Python and HTML, and enjoy exploring robotics and building circuits”.
Talking about her favourite part of these programmes, she added:
“My favorite part was our field trips with fellow P-TECH classmates, like a Girls’ Hackathon and a 48×48 event, where I worked alongside IBM employee volunteers to build 48 websites for various nonprofit organizations in 48 hours”.
Selah’s appreciation about P-TECH is not limited to gaining skills in the classroom, it is a comprehensive experience which made her realise that there are multiple “soft professional skills” which leads one to workplace success, foe example “like how to dress, collaborate, think critically but constructively, conduct ourselves maturely, or prepare a resume”, she chirped.
Following internship, Selah is going to join “Baruch College in the fall” and will be pursuing “a bachelor’s degree in digital marketing”. And she also hopes to complete her MBA someday.
References:
3blmedia.com
Usually, students take six year for the completion of the P-TECH programme, whereas Selah managed to complete it just four years, and she is proud of it. With the help of “IBM’s Open P-TECH platform”, Selah joined virtual classes and used her extra time to earn “digital badges” in various topics like “data science and professional skills”. In Selah’s words:
“And despite not having a traditional graduation ceremony this year, I’m looking forward to the first-ever virtual graduation celebration for all U.S. P-TECH graduates from IBM affiliated schools. I will be one of 137 graduating P-TECH students from six IBM-affiliated schools in other cities like Chicago, Baltimore and elsewhere. It’s amazing to think about how those six schools are only a small part of the education and career-readiness model, with 220 schools in 24 countries. And to think that my school was the first one to be established!”
She began with P-TECH through basic coding but went on to attend “rigorous classwork and extracurricular programs like Black Girls Code” in her free time. And she recounted:
“I found myself able to code in multiple languages including Python and HTML, and enjoy exploring robotics and building circuits”.
Talking about her favourite part of these programmes, she added:
“My favorite part was our field trips with fellow P-TECH classmates, like a Girls’ Hackathon and a 48×48 event, where I worked alongside IBM employee volunteers to build 48 websites for various nonprofit organizations in 48 hours”.
Selah’s appreciation about P-TECH is not limited to gaining skills in the classroom, it is a comprehensive experience which made her realise that there are multiple “soft professional skills” which leads one to workplace success, foe example “like how to dress, collaborate, think critically but constructively, conduct ourselves maturely, or prepare a resume”, she chirped.
Following internship, Selah is going to join “Baruch College in the fall” and will be pursuing “a bachelor’s degree in digital marketing”. And she also hopes to complete her MBA someday.
References:
3blmedia.com
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