Inspiring Success

For 30 years now, educators and business leaders have all but begged teenaged girls to consider careers in technology. And for 30 years, their pleas have largely fallen short. As a result, the technology industry overwhelmingly remains male. Although women account for nearly half of the U.S. workforce, only about a quarter of information technology (IT) workers are female.

In a black and white photograph, there is a young boy in Thailand holding a small chalkboard scribbled with his name and a refugee number. He looks directly into the camera, as if searching for his future. Today that boy is an American citizen, but the man, Nhia Yang, now 38, still looks ahead with hope in his eyes.

It was the last day of assessments, a day that would determine the final make-up of an IT-Ready class which prepares individuals for a CompTIA A+ certification and a full-time paid apprenticeship with a local company. The candidate arrived barely on time, breathing heavily and sweating. Despite the shaky start, he passed his assessment exams and his interview went well.

Attendees of Breakaway 2012 in Las Vegas ran into the usual suspects in Sin City, as Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Dean Martin (or the late Rat Pack’s best impersonators, at least) provided the final night’s entertainment. But also making his way to the stage at Breakaway was one total newcomer to the Vegas scene.