Six local professionals graduated from the AIM Callers to Coders program on Friday.
This was an opportunity that Physicians Mutual provided for their employees.
Emily Matis, director at Tech Education at AIM Institute, said, “The people that you have are the people that you need to invest in.”
The year-long program was held entirely virtual due to the global coronavirus pandemic. But, this helped students to remain successfully working full time at Physicians Mutual, while they took modular based classes at AIM!
Nathan Coberly, Vice President of Enterprise Architecture Development at Physicians Mutual and AIM board member, addressed the crowd at the virtual graduation ceremony. He explained how AIM helped frame up the opportunity to upskill Physicians Mutual customer service agents into IT workers. “AIM has been with us from day one, every step of the way,” he said.
Coberly also spoke highly of the graduates, noting this was not an easy task.
“I’m so excited for the opportunities that lie ahead for our six participants,” Coberly said. “This is really a beginning for them now, as they consider different opportunities at Physicians Mutual to leverage their training and affect these career transitions. I’m already excited about what’s coming together.”
The Callers to Coders program helps remove barriers to entry for technology careers. The curriculum participants studied included: Computing Foundations; Introduction to Programming with Python; Business Intelligence; Foundations of Web Development; and Programming Intermediate (Java).
Before the graduation ceremony started, participants were working together to code, and solve problems. During the graduation ceremony, students shared what they were taking away from the course, everything from learning to code, better communication skills, talented teachers, and formalizing mentorship relationships.
The graduates include: Jasmine Wainwright-Henry, Nicole Perry, Catherine “Cat” Wilber, Marissa Homan, Charley Greenfield, and Alexander “Alex” Mares. Each student had the option to speak, and they all did.
Marissa Homan said, “I feel thankful! I’m excited to utilize the new technical skills I learned. We were all able to follow along with what they showed us.” Catherine “Cat” Wilber said, “I had an absolute ball. I learned so much!”
Lead instructor Vanessa Kasun added, “I wish you every happiness. Masters and experts don’t know everything.” She added a quote from Star Wars Jedi Master Yoda, “Much to learn you still have.”
To discover more about AIM Code School, visit our website or contact Emily Matis. To learn more about AIM’s custom training opportunities, contact Tony Veland, Business Development Director.
Congratulations to the graduates!