By Steve Roatch, CEO of Twentyseven Global
The team at Twentyseven Global is excited to learn about SeedPaths, a Denver-based hacker boot camp that’s helping low-income youth learn basic software development, programming and other professional tech skills.
Creighton O’Neal, vice president of client service at Twentyseven Global, said, “This is a great cause and we’re very excited to see young people in the Denver community learn about software development, web development and technology.”
According to the Denver Post, the inaugural eight-week program kicked off in February 2013 with 13 students whose $6,000 tuition was fully covered by the federal Workforce Investment Act. To qualify, students between the ages of 16 and 21 have to come from a low-income household and face at least one of several obstacles, such as learning disabilities and homelessness. Students can earn up to $1,000 by reaching milestones in the program.
Facilitator Dustin Kraft helps student Narascha Perez, 19, right, during a front-end Web development class at SeedPaths in Denver. (Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post)
Diego Conde, an 18-year-old member of the program, told the Denver Post, “What’s so great about the program is that they have not only taught me about the tech industry, but also the professionalism part of it, involving high energy and intellectual curiosity. It’s just a variety of things that I have never learned or nobody ever taught me while being in the child welfare system.”
