Plinio Ayala
Per Scholas
Newark, NJ USA
"Don’t forget where you came from, but more importantly, don’t let your yesterdays drive your tomorrows."
Career Roadmap
Plinio's work combines: Education, Technology, and Helping People
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Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Advice for getting started
Don't be afraid to say no to the things that aren't going to work for you. We need to realize when something—an educational program, a rule, an opportunity, anything!—doesn't work for everyone, say no to it, and come up with better solutions.
Here's the path I took:
High School
Bachelor's Degree
American Studies
Wesleyan University
Certification
Non-Profit/Public/Organizational Management
Life & Career Milestones
I've taken a lot of twists and turns
1.
I grew up in a rough neighborhood in the South Bronx and realized early on that careers create opportunities because I saw people leave those neighborhoods when their parents got a job.
2.
One of my teachers saw potential in me and put extra effort into helping me grow that potential—this resulted in a scholarship to a school in Manhattan.
3.
After graduating high school and college, I decided to take my credit card with a $1000 limit and go to Puerto Rico to start a business in refrigeration and air conditioning.
4.
After a couple of years, I sold that business and moved back to the Bronx and was set on using the money I had produced to find a career that would help other people.
5.
I ended up finding a job helping others write their job resumes, but I still wanted to help people on a much larger scale.
6.
I started working with Per Scholas, which originally refurbished used computers for much lower than the market cost and taught the technology to others.
7.
Half the original class we hired left after a few months because they now had the skills needed to succeed elsewhere—we realized this was our opportunity to train people in IT for career success.
8.
We shifted the objective at Per Scholas to focus on workforce development and I eventually moved into the CEO position—we currently train about 10,000 people and hope to keep growing rapidly!
Defining Moments
Experiences and challenges that shaped me
I grew up in a rough neighborhood in the South Bronx. It was difficult trying to navigate being a child in an environment like that. However, it instilled in me the desire to succeed and give back to the community. Never forget where you come from.
There was a point in my childhood when my mom, sister, and I had to go door-to-door asking for money just to be able to eat. It was at that moment that I decided to strive to make sure that never happened in my family again.