yall know what to do to...
Nashville woman goes from homelessness to Google with IT certification
The lifeline of a tech job: A Nashville woman goes from homelessness to Google with an IT certification
Jamie McGee, Nashville TennesseanPublished 8:00 a.m. CT Feb. 13, 2019 | Updated 2:11 p.m. CT Feb. 13, 2019
Chelsea Rucker and her two daughters spent 90 days living in a shelter while Rucker underwent an intensive training program and is now works at Google. Autumn Allison, Nashville Tennessean
CONNECT11TWEET11LINKEDIN11COMMENT11EMAIL11MORE11
Last spring, Chelsea Rucker and her two young daughters were living at the Nashville YWCA for three months, unable to secure housing after moving back to the area from Atlanta.
She began working as a Goodwill office manager and tried to make it seem to her daughters, now 2 and 6, that they were on vacation or on some sort of camping trip until their home was ready.
"It was the most difficult time I have ever had to face," Rucker, 30, said. "I didn't even have a house. I just kept saying, 'We are waiting on a house.'"
Buy Photo
In December, Rucker earned a Google IT Support Professional Certificate. She rents a three-bedroom house near Bordeaux and in January began a job as a data center technician at Google's new data center in Clarksville, nearly tripling her previous salary.
"It's amazing. I feel like I can breathe," Rucker said. "I actually had some money left over from my paycheck. I can start saving."
Buy Photo
Chelsea Rucker poses for a portrait in Nashville on Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019. (Photo11: Mike Clark / For The Tennessean)
Rucker's path to the highly-paid, fast-growing field came from a new IT professional support program funded and led by Google.org and initiated locally by Goodwill Industries of Middle Tennessee. It offers those with a high school degree or equivalent to pursue an IT certificate tuition-free, and the interactive, online program takes participants from beginner to entry-level skills within eight to 12 months. Google is working with other major employers, including Bank of America and Walmart, to connect participants to jobs.
The Google initiative seeks to cultivate opportunities for those not in traditional tech training programs, as well as help build a much-needed pipeline of talented tech workers nationally.
Tech jobs booming in Nashville
Buy Photo
Chloe Rucker, 6, helps her mom, Chelsea Rucker, clean their home in Nashville on Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019. (Photo11: Mike Clark / For The Tennessean)
Amazon and EY, moving to Nashville, the demand for tech skills is expected to accelerate.
Goodwill Industries of Middle Tennessee secured $325,000 in grant funds from Google.org. The local program, launched in 2018, includes 27 participants and three graduates. The grant also includes funding for digital literacy and awareness training at varying levels. Google has said the program will provide scholarships to 10,000 participants nationwide.
Becky Currier, Goodwill training and certification programs manager, pursued the grants, seeing the program as aligning with Goodwill's mission of changing lives through education, training and employment, she said.
To be enrolled, participants must demonstrate interest, basic computer skills and be proficient in English, and must complete a survey, an assessment and an interview before they are accepted. Through Goodwill, participants have access to support services for the program, such as transportation, clothing for job interviews or job placement assistance.
"The majority of these students would not have thought it possible without the scholarship," Currier said.
Before Amazon, who are Nashville's largest employers?
Tech jobs: Amazon will be great for Nashville's tech sector — unless it's poaching your employees
Buy Photo
Chelsea Rucker runs errands with her daughter Chloe Rucker, 6, in Nashville on Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019. (Photo11: Mike Clark / For The Tennessean)
Cookies and ice cream to celebrate
When Rucker was hired by Google, she and her girls first danced around and then celebrated with homemade cookies and ice cream -- with sprinkles. Her oldest daughter is especially excited about her new job, she said.
"She's like, 'Mom, maybe we can go on vacation this year?'" Rucker said.
As a data center technician, Rucker makes sure the hardware and server are running effectively. The commute to Clarksville is long, but she is reluctant to complain.
"I have never had a place where I felt I could come and ask any question and I wouldn't be judged," she said. "It's all about learning and making sure that we are all going to be here to do good work together."
Rucker reflects on the last year with gratitude and amazement, with an optimistic view of her and her daughters' future.
"I didn’t really see it panning out this way, that I would have the opportunity to be here and go through that training and get a job at Google," she said.
Want to read more stories like this? A Tennessean subscription gives you unlimited access to stories that make a difference in your life and the lives of those around you.
Reach Jamie McGee at 615-259-8071 and on Twitter at @JamieMcGee_.
Find out more
To learn more about the Goodwill Industries of Middle Tennessee scholarship program with Google, email training@givegw.org or call 1(800) 545-9231.
Nashville woman goes from homelessness to Google with IT certification
The lifeline of a tech job: A Nashville woman goes from homelessness to Google with an IT certification
Jamie McGee, Nashville TennesseanPublished 8:00 a.m. CT Feb. 13, 2019 | Updated 2:11 p.m. CT Feb. 13, 2019
Chelsea Rucker and her two daughters spent 90 days living in a shelter while Rucker underwent an intensive training program and is now works at Google. Autumn Allison, Nashville Tennessean
CONNECT11TWEET11LINKEDIN11COMMENT11EMAIL11MORE11
Last spring, Chelsea Rucker and her two young daughters were living at the Nashville YWCA for three months, unable to secure housing after moving back to the area from Atlanta.
She began working as a Goodwill office manager and tried to make it seem to her daughters, now 2 and 6, that they were on vacation or on some sort of camping trip until their home was ready.
"It was the most difficult time I have ever had to face," Rucker, 30, said. "I didn't even have a house. I just kept saying, 'We are waiting on a house.'"
Buy Photo
In December, Rucker earned a Google IT Support Professional Certificate. She rents a three-bedroom house near Bordeaux and in January began a job as a data center technician at Google's new data center in Clarksville, nearly tripling her previous salary.
"It's amazing. I feel like I can breathe," Rucker said. "I actually had some money left over from my paycheck. I can start saving."
Chelsea Rucker poses for a portrait in Nashville on Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019. (Photo11: Mike Clark / For The Tennessean)
Rucker's path to the highly-paid, fast-growing field came from a new IT professional support program funded and led by Google.org and initiated locally by Goodwill Industries of Middle Tennessee. It offers those with a high school degree or equivalent to pursue an IT certificate tuition-free, and the interactive, online program takes participants from beginner to entry-level skills within eight to 12 months. Google is working with other major employers, including Bank of America and Walmart, to connect participants to jobs.
The Google initiative seeks to cultivate opportunities for those not in traditional tech training programs, as well as help build a much-needed pipeline of talented tech workers nationally.
Tech jobs booming in Nashville
Chloe Rucker, 6, helps her mom, Chelsea Rucker, clean their home in Nashville on Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019. (Photo11: Mike Clark / For The Tennessean)
Amazon and EY, moving to Nashville, the demand for tech skills is expected to accelerate.
Goodwill Industries of Middle Tennessee secured $325,000 in grant funds from Google.org. The local program, launched in 2018, includes 27 participants and three graduates. The grant also includes funding for digital literacy and awareness training at varying levels. Google has said the program will provide scholarships to 10,000 participants nationwide.
Becky Currier, Goodwill training and certification programs manager, pursued the grants, seeing the program as aligning with Goodwill's mission of changing lives through education, training and employment, she said.
To be enrolled, participants must demonstrate interest, basic computer skills and be proficient in English, and must complete a survey, an assessment and an interview before they are accepted. Through Goodwill, participants have access to support services for the program, such as transportation, clothing for job interviews or job placement assistance.
"The majority of these students would not have thought it possible without the scholarship," Currier said.
Before Amazon, who are Nashville's largest employers?
Tech jobs: Amazon will be great for Nashville's tech sector — unless it's poaching your employees
Chelsea Rucker runs errands with her daughter Chloe Rucker, 6, in Nashville on Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019. (Photo11: Mike Clark / For The Tennessean)
Cookies and ice cream to celebrate
When Rucker was hired by Google, she and her girls first danced around and then celebrated with homemade cookies and ice cream -- with sprinkles. Her oldest daughter is especially excited about her new job, she said.
"She's like, 'Mom, maybe we can go on vacation this year?'" Rucker said.
As a data center technician, Rucker makes sure the hardware and server are running effectively. The commute to Clarksville is long, but she is reluctant to complain.
"I have never had a place where I felt I could come and ask any question and I wouldn't be judged," she said. "It's all about learning and making sure that we are all going to be here to do good work together."
Rucker reflects on the last year with gratitude and amazement, with an optimistic view of her and her daughters' future.
"I didn’t really see it panning out this way, that I would have the opportunity to be here and go through that training and get a job at Google," she said.
Want to read more stories like this? A Tennessean subscription gives you unlimited access to stories that make a difference in your life and the lives of those around you.
Reach Jamie McGee at 615-259-8071 and on Twitter at @JamieMcGee_.
Find out more
To learn more about the Goodwill Industries of Middle Tennessee scholarship program with Google, email training@givegw.org or call 1(800) 545-9231.
