NPower Celebrates Class of Fall 2020 Graduates – First Fully Virtual Cohort

Press Release (ePRNews.com) - Brooklyn, New York - Mar 11, 2021 - The tech training nonprofit, ​NPower, has announced the virtual graduation ceremony celebrating their first completely virtual cohort will be held Thursday, March 11, 2021, at 7:00 pm ET. Sylvie Veilleux, Chief Information Officer (CIO) at Dropbox to serve as commencement speaker for the young adults and veteran graduates.

The virtual ceremony will celebrate the success of over 300 graduates from NPower programs across the country – Brooklyn, Harlem, Jersey City, Newark, Baltimore, Detroit, Dallas-Fort Worth, St. Louis and San Jose.

Families, partners, and alumni who would like to watch the virtual ceremony can RSVP here.

The Fall Class of 2020 joins over 4,000 other NPower alumni, who go on to secure entry-level tech jobs at Fortune 500 companies or continue their education with college or advanced degrees.

NPower is dedicated to removing the obstacles under-served populations face when entering the technology industry while also determining what the industry needs to overcome these barriers to diversity. 100 percent of NPower students are unemployed or under-employed when they begin the program. 76 percent of NPower trainees identify as Black, Latinx or multicultural.

This is NPower’s first cohort to start and complete in a fully virtual learning environment since transitioning in mid-March of 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

While this is the first time NPower has delivered the entire program 100% virtually across the country, they have implemented all they have learned over the past year to deliver the same high-quality skills and support to this class as they have over the past decade.

The CEO of NPower, Bertina Ceccarelli, says the team at NPower is committed to the success of their students and connecting them to the critical tech jobs that are still in high demand.

“We are so proud of NPower’s Class of Fall 2020 who possessed an unmatched sense of optimism and hope for the future while in the midst of the current global pandemic, economic recession, racial tension in this country, and their own personal obstacles,” says Ceccarelli, “These certified young adult and veteran graduates are eager to showcase their newly-acquired skills to meet the demand of the tech labor market.”

NPower student, Cecile Cromartie was chosen to give the graduation speech to her class. She’s among the 40 percent of NPower graduates who are veterans.

“Thanks to the NPower program, I am learning the essential technical and professional skills that will prepare me for a successful career in cybersecurity,” says Cromartie.

NPower student, Gabrielle McCaleb, was another student chosen to give a graduation speech. Her speech will encourage and inspire other young adults and especially women of color to apply to NPower.

“Everyone working in the program really makes sure you know that you’re supported and push you to be the best that you can be,” says McCaleb, “And I can say I have grown in more ways than expected.”

Apply Now to Be A Part Of The Fall 2021 Class

The nonprofit organization will continue with its virtual training model as they recruit the Fall Class of 2021. Applicants can apply now on the NPower website. The next class starts in August.

_{Congratulations Class of Fall 2020}

Fall 2020 NPower Graduates (by region)

Brooklyn and Harlem, New York

Ebun Adesanya

Shafin Ahsan

Brittany Alexander

Brandon Ali

Grace Alston

Elisha Asaph

Somi Babar

Kayla Ballentine

Demetreis Bankhead

Jonathan Jean Baptiste

Derek Conde Barranco

Francisco Beltran

AnnMarie Bianchi

Shamar Boodie

Bunim Bukalov

Adilton Campos

Bryant Campos

Daniel Caro

Brian Cheng

Humayun Chodury

Moonthaha Choudhury

Michelle Chun

Maris Cooper

Tatianna Corselli

Kevin Cruz

Saida Davis

Lisaury De Jesus

Wesley De Jesus

Juan Diaz

Louis Disen

Oksana Dumych

John Joseph Dupingay

Francisco Esperon

Omari Fabor

Marques Felder

Eugen Ferati

Euron Ferati

Travis Ferguson

Bryan Francis

Ashantee Franklin

Erik Fu

Angela Gertsovich

Lynette Gittens

Mariia Gladkova

Joel Hardamon

Jasmyn He

Syeda Jahan

Denise Javier

James Johnson

Ashley Joseph

Nickrood Jourdain

Raveen Kanagaratnam

Prince Karim

Taskin Khan

Ronas Khanal

Michael Klimowicz

Penelope Lajara

Brian Lee

Bianca LeRay

Joseph Li

Lina Macias

Antonio Mallia

Musa Mansoor

Christopher Montalvo

Usama Muraad

Rishi Nauth

Janqueily Navarro

Shah Nawaz

Faruk Oshobajo

Karyn Cherubin-Persue

Syeda Rahman

Thalia Rodriguez

Oscar Santiago

Ludwig Santos

Dexter Sekyere

Emnet Seyoum

Fahim Shakie

Christian Siaca

Aminata Siby

Jevante Smith

Richard Smith

Ajuante Springer

Anthony Stephenson

Driton Sylaj

Elijahwan Thomas

Andrew Toledo

Pavel Topchilko

Jesus Trujillo

Christina Valdez

Esther Wen

Jahdel Wentworth

Stephan Yambay

Isaiah Young

Bekzod Yunusov

Andrew Zhou

Steve Zhuravel

Newark and Jersey City, New Jersey

Diane Akasike

Mikayla Alme

Edgar Alvarado

Kyle Anderson

Tommy Bahr

Naomi Baisa

Racquel Balaoas

Ricki Bates

Jena Mae Batong

Tasia Blair

Gabriel Campos

Rashad Carson

Diego Changa

David De La Cruz

William Figueroa

Heriberto Fleites

Michael Ford

Wilkenson “Ken” Francois

Rebecca Gabriel

Riya Gandhi

Pratesh Gartaula

Jonathan Colindres George

Stephen Greeley

Shailendra “Shy” Gupta

Omar Hidalgo-Polo

Sophia Hylton

Donovin Innocent

Tasheene Jones

Charphley Joseph

Devon LaCruz

Madeenah Lawal

Tien Yin Lee

Mario Martinez

Salvador Morillo

Elvis Munoz

Junho Oh

Deanna Rodriguez

Maricsa Rosa

Shayan (Shawn) Sabeerin

Patryk Sagan

Kendal Sherrod-Jones

Abigail Simon

Cass Smith

Alvaro Solares Davila

Denise Spencer

Michael Stewart

Riyadhul Taher

Michelle Tapia

Archibald Tassot

David Torres

Peter Vasquez

Justo Velasquez

Winson Wong

Elmira Zabarina

Baltimore, Maryland 

Peter Adebisi

Olabode Adeuyan

Ezekiel Adewunmi

James Baker Jr

David Belon

Justin Bentham

Tymon Blow

Duane Bond

Devon Booker

Trinity Bratton

Donovan Brooks

Adraina Cheeks

Jordan Cooper

Josiah Edwards

Jaleel Francis

Anthony Franklin

Fred Green

Rayniel Guiriba

Kimberlynn Gunter

Ahmari Hassan

Dontabein Hicks

Chelsey Hill

Marie Iyomahan

Eddie Jordan II

Deontay Laws

Yasmine Mohamed

Malik Moore

Brianna Murel

Linus Osuji

Amandla Pertee

Shawn-Paul Philpotts

Darius Quarles

Isaac Reason

Niya Roberts

Niles Roberts

J’Mari Romain

Basith Salami

Jonathan Seaman

Myia Seaton

Umesh Sharma

Deonte Stanley

Damonde Sweeney

Jade Vinson

Brendan Williams

Darrien Wilson

Darien Worrell

Rowan Yearwood

Gilchrist Yomb

Detroit, Michigan 

Mohamad Abdulazim

Zahed Ahmed

D\’Angelo Allen

Tyler Barbee

Gabrielle Castillo

Connor Choma

Garrett Cline

Edward Croft

Alissa Crump

Dimitri Darden

Hunter Douglas

Omar Faruk

Faithie Fraley

Gregory Frazier II

Amanda Gordon

La\’Kaleigh Harris

Altaful Hasib

Rahat Hassan

Javon Jackson

Kevin Jurado

Ashley Klavitter

Isis Madyun

Jaylyn Marshall

Elijah Martinez

Daryl McAfee

Hiram McGee

Jonathan Miller

Jacob Monterosso

Jasmine Moreno

Lucas Nye

Delmar Pressley

David Juan Roldan-DeJesus

Nathan Rushing

Cornell Sims

Donovan Temple

Ashley Ussery

Staje Vanzant-Hadley

Oscar Villarreal

Khari Walker

James Yates

Dallas, Texas

Carmen Aldana

Rodney Alexander

Cenecia Booker

Deepika Bhatta

Kyle Callier

Cecile Cromartie

Kevin Crumpton

Quincy Davis

Daniel Dotson

Lee Elder, Jr.

Xavier Enachoro

Yvette Encalada

Albert Garry

Anilisha Gurung

Magdalene Banks Huber

Brett Lohmeier

Didier Muvandimwe

Mark Nesbitt

Chike Okechukwu

Titilayo Olajide

Sangeeta Pandey

Saurav Pokhrel

Sauraj Pradham

Malachi Prah

Indra Pun

Neema Rana

Ernesto Rances

Christopher Robertson

Edwin Rodriguez

David Sada

Shreeja Sainju

Avery Sales

Detourious Satterwhite

Alpha Sesay

Jyotshana Sharma

Chirayu Shrestha

Olabode Shonibare

Schaylite Sibley

Evan Smith

Natasha Tyrell

Djau Wilks

Robert Williams

San Jose, California 

Liya Abera

Ayomide Agboola

Su Lei Aye

Kurtis Blueford

Destiny Blueford

Kevin Briceno

Eric Chappel

Anthony Cotton

Carole Cruz

Ryan Dix

Benjamin Galindo

Ricardo Gudiel

Tony Hernandez

Joshua Jackson

Sekinat Kalejaiye

George Kelly

Leo Lai

Emily Laih

Byron Lam

Rachel Lo

Yen-Jung Lu

Stephen Mensah

Aileen Murakami

Kimberly Ness

Nikkole Owen

Jacques Pierre

Edgar Playda

Clarissa Ponce

Vincent Salamanca

Jose Carlo Sarmiento

Michael Severin

Charanveer Singh

Achala Singh

Niyana Sivasundaram

Julio Suazo

Miguel Topete

Brandon Tran

Jennifer Wang

Vera Wong

Robert Wong

Jose Zamora

St. Louis, Missouri 

Kiya Aaron

Oluwatobilolba Adeniyi

Jared Bailey

Jimaniqua Baldwin

Kegan Baumgarte

Sahil Bhakta

John Boyd

Kyle Brooks

Centilus Buchanan

Anthony Carter

Sergio (Nikko) Chirco

Devan Collins

Thomas Croft

Christopher Davis

Joria Davis

Nathan Davis

Mason Dixon

Ian Edwards

Ryan Fischer

Kayla Gibson

Fred Goodgaim

Joseph Goodwin

Aja Henderson

Mayson Hendrix

Joshua Hyatt

Thomas Irons

Love Issac

Jordan Jenkins

Alyssa Johnson

Caleb Kelsey

Germain Kirkwood

Leilani Klein

Seth Klotzbach

Alec Lee

Dayja Lowe

Gabrielle McCaleb

Joseph Moore

Desiree Osbourne

Simon (Suman) Patel

Som Pyakurel

Cody Ramey

Jarvis Reese

Natalie Rose

TJ Ruck

Zedric Rucker

Lamonte Rusan

Sean Solomon

Melvin Taylor

Christopher Thompson

Dennis Tucker

Durante Turner

Kimberly Wells

Austen Wells-McIntosh

Starshay Williams

Joe Xie

About NPower

NPower is a national nonprofit on a mission to move people from poverty to the middle class by training youth from underserved communities and veterans in a range of tech skills and placing them in quality jobs. Students who enter their free, six-month program, earn industry-recognized certifications and graduate with the competencies of an IT professional with one to two years of experience. NPower also places students in paid internships with corporate and nonprofit organizations. Eighty percent of NPower graduates get a full-time job or continue their education. NPower’s free tech training programs for under-served communities are located in Brooklyn, Harlem, Baltimore, Jersey City, Newark, Detroit, Dallas, St. Louis, and San Jose. To learn more visit www.npower.org