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By Nikki Cabus

Palm Beach State College receives $8M from Related Companies towards student scholarships

Read Time 4 Minutes

The Stephen M. Ross Emerging Scholars Program at Palm Beach State College, created by Related Companies, was announced last month during a ceremony at Gaines Park in West Palm Beach. The $8 million gift will support West Palm Beach students in grades 7-12 and follow them through their postsecondary education with full scholarships at Palm Beach State.

“This gift is going to accelerate opportunities for West Palm Beach residents and businesses by helping remove the leading barrier to economic growth, and that’s the knowledge gap,” said PBSC President Ava. L. Parker, J.D. “What’s so amazing about working with Stephen and his vision is that he understands that it’s not enough just to say to 12th-graders it’s time to go to college and here’s a scholarship. He understands the communication and the partnership must start so much earlier in the lives of these students.”

The $8 million gift, the first contribution of the Related Together grantmaking foundation, will ensure that every future graduate of Palm Beach Lakes and Forest Hill High Schools will receive a full scholarship to Palm Beach State College. The Related Together contribution will also be used to fund college readiness programs for students in grades 7-12 to help prepare them for pathways to a postsecondary education and career credentials that will bolster Palm Beach County’s future workforce.

“I’m thrilled to be here,” said Ross during the ceremony. “You want to live to have an impact and do things that can really benefit people. West Palm Beach and Related Together are really in a position to do that and become the model city for this country.”

Additionally, an Early College Academy will be developed at the two West Palm Beach high schools, which will include paid academic advisors and peer-to-peer student mentors. These student mentors will receive a stipend. The program will also focus on preparing students for STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields.

The program was developed in partnership with the Foundation for Palm Beach State College led by Vice President of Institutional Advancement and CEO of the Foundation David Rutherford, who attended the ceremony.

Attending the ceremony with Parker and Rutherford were Chairman of Related Companies and philanthropist Stephen Ross; Related Together Board Chair Gopal Rajegowda; Mayor of West Palm Beach Keith James; West Palm Beach Commissioners Christina Lambert, Christy Fox and Cathleen Ward; President of the Quantum Foundation Eric Kelly; PBSC former District Board of Trustees Chair Carolyn Williams; PBSC Foundation and Quantum Foundation board members; and others.

“This partnership will help accomplish my administration’s goal and that is to make West Palm Beach a community of opportunity for all,” said Mayor James during the event.

Each year, Related Together will contribute funds to implement projects and programs focused on six pillars, including education, housing, income and employment opportunities, health care access, arts and culture engagement, and digital accessibility. The success of each program will be defined by attracting scalable philanthropic investments and proactive grantmaking to launch new programs with the goal to reverse the cycle of poverty and support a cycle of growth.

“Related Together’s model is to have businesses that are coming here invest into the community through this program and work with local leaders to bring accelerated and immediate changes that will shape generations of people,” said Rajegowda at the celebration.

In partnership with Related Companies, Related Together was built through the expertise of local leaders, such as Kelly who is recognized for transformative change in underserved communities.

“These neighborhoods have been resilient, and they have resolved to succeed,” said Kelly. “I’m grateful for the leadership of our mayor, Stephen, Gopal, and in particular Ava Parker to acknowledge that these communities have been ready, they certainly are ready and now they have the opportunity to strive and make life better.”

Three pillars of the Stephen M. Ross Emerging Scholars initiative will help equip students and schools with resources to ensure postsecondary attendance, retention, and completion, leading to career readiness and personal success. The pillars include having Palm Beach State advisors embedded into the high schools to work closely with school counselors to guide students through the dual enrollment selection and registration process.

In addition, the Stephen M. Ross Early College Academy gives access to health sciences, STEM and other high-demand career pathways that empower the individual and impact the community.

Related Together’s organizational structure is comprised of key executive representatives, including Ross, Jeff Brodsky, Ken Himmel, Bruce Warwick, a Board of Directors including Rajegowda, Treasurer Katie Block, and Secretary Jordan Rathlev and supported through local partners and stakeholders, such as the Quantum Foundation, and others to be announced.

For more information and how to support, please visit www.relatedtogether.org.

By Nikki Cabus

Techstrong supports diversity in tech; the next Engineer The Change scholarship recipient announced

Read Time 5 Minutes

Techstrong Group has teamed up with Boca Code once again to award another ‘Engineer the Change’ scholarship to help foster diversity in South Florida tech talent pool and empower individuals from underserved communities to develop the skills needed to succeed in the industry.

The scholarship is awarded twice per year, once in the spring and once in the fall. Winners receive $10,000 each to put toward Boca Code’s Software Engineering Course. The 10-week intensive coding bootcamp combines theory and hands-on, project-based learning that prepares the students for a career in software engineering. Boca Code offers adults comprehensive training in software development using real projects for real companies to best prepare you for and help place you in a career in the tech industry.

Our Engineer The Change scholarship recipient for the Spring 2023 cohort is . . . Camila Sandoval!

Camila was born in Colombia, South America in a small town where tragedy struck her family early on. With the support of her grandmother who taught her English and her mother who instilled strong values and a love for mathematics, Camila was driven to pursue a degree in biomedical engineering where she took two programming classes that ignited her interest in coding. She then realized she wanted to dedicate her career to developing medical software. With few opportunities in Colombia in this field, she moved to South Florida, a state known for healthcare and innovation.

Moving to the United States presented several challenges, including a lack of connections, her degree not being recognized, and having to prioritize finding a job to cover my basic needs over prioritizing her education. She continued self-taught online bootcamps where she discovered Boca Code and the “Engineer the Change” scholarship opportunity. She knew this was her next step.

Camila has a great desire to help others and much of that stems from her own personal experiences. She believes these opportunities should be available to everyone no matter there background or circumstances.

Upon winning, Camila told South Florida Tech Hub, “As an immigrant, winning the Engineer the Change Scholarship means more than just having the financial support to achieve my goals. It also provides me with the opportunity to join an industry that transforms the world. I am grateful for the chance to contribute my unique perspective and inspire others who may be facing similar challenges.”

Congratulations, Camila, we are all rooting for you!

The Engineer the Change scholarships combine two goals that are core to Techstrong Group:

  1. Doing their part to make South Florida a world-class hub for the tech industry and
  2. Providing opportunities for individuals from underrepresented communities to acquire the skills they need for a successful career in tech.

Techstrong Group is a media company and the power source for people and technology accelerating understanding of technologies that drive business by serving the needs of IT leaders and practitioners with news, research, analysis, events, education, certifications and professional development. Their focus is digital transformation, DevOps, cybersecurity, cloud and cloud-native under brands such as Techstrong Media, Techstrong Associations, Techstrong Research, Techstrong Learning and Techstrong Live!

“We are proud to continue our partnership with Boca Code to support and empower talented individuals who are seeking opportunities for growth and have demonstrated a deep commitment to pursuing a career in IT,” said Alan Shimel, founder and CEO at Techstrong Group. The scholarship will be awarded to the most deserving student whose application shows a genuine interest in technology and demonstrates the potential to be a future leader.”

Research shows a staggering lack of diversity in STEM fields, most noticeably within computer and engineering positions. It is a glaring workforce disparity that requires both recognition and responsibility from those at the highest levels in the tech world to create a more diverse and equitable workforce.

To be eligible, applicants must be over the age of 18 and be part of an underrepresented community (i.e. women, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native Americans or other minority groups). To be considered, applicants will are required to submit an essay (minimum of 500 words in length) detailing how they can serve as a role model to other disadvantaged individuals hoping to acquire the skills to become successful tech workers and what type of career in the tech industry they are hoping to pursue.

While the idea is to help the South Florida tech community, applicants can apply from anywhere as long as their essay explains why they are coming to South Florida to launch their tech career.

Boca Code CEO Todd Albert told South Florida Tech Hub that ‘The scholarship has a huge impact because we have been able to help students that would otherwise not have been able to afford to attend. We’ve given 8 students the opportunity to change their lives and have a better future for them and their families.”

“Techstrong is an amazing partner and shares our passion for making the tech community even more diverse,” he continued.

“It is important to us that we seize every opportunity to help foster diversity and inclusivity within the tech industry, and the Engineer the Change scholarship is a great start to empowering disadvantaged minorities within the South Florida community to grow their technical skill set.”

Unlike other code schools where students work on dummy projects, Boca Code partners with real companies to give our students real life resume-worthy projects to work on that not only build their portfolio, but give them meaningful experiences. Their curriculum is designed by professional educators and senior developers.

Additionally, scholarship winners are featured in the ‘Engineering the Change’ video series, produced by Techstrong Group, which follows the recipients on their journey to become software engineers. From the highs to the lows, you can get a view into what these software engineering students are facing.

Additional Resources

Palm Beach State College receives $8M from Related Companies towards student scholarships
Techstrong supports diversity in tech; the next Engineer The Change scholarship recipient announced