Udacity is committed to partnering with organizations to sponsor scholarship programs for underrepresented groups and one partnership is with UnderDog Devs.
UnderDog Devs, founded in September of 2020, is a group of software developers supporting the formerly incarcerated & disadvantaged in their transition into the software industry. The organization is run entirely by volunteers and has raised enough funding to pay their learners a stipend while they learn to code so they can focus 100% of their time on learning new skills to achieve a job in tech that will truly transform their lives.
According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), 67.8% of released state prisoners were arrested for a new crime within three years, and 76.7% were arrested within five years (Durose, Cooper, & Snyder, 2014). Reducing recidivism not only protects society at large, but also improves the life quality of individual ex-prisoners.
Read on to learn about Rick Wolter, founder of UnderDog Devs and how the partnership with Udacity is making a difference in the lives of formerly incarcerated and economically disadvantaged individuals.
Rick grew up in the Orlando, FL and a lack of parental direction led him to running with the wrong crowd and getting in trouble. He eventually ending up in prison when he was 18 years old due to a bad choice. Rick used his time in prison to learn about programming and immersed himself in the culture through reading and listening to podcasts.
Upon leaving prison, Rick was able to get into a college program and eventually landed a software engineering job. He wanted to help others learn how to program and land a job after being released from prison. He created a community with weekly meetings, open houses and now they are over 500 members strong.
Rick reached out to Udacity in August 2021 asking if Udacity would be willing to support UnderDog Devs by providing Nanodegrees to support 10 of his students.
Many people may be ready to upskill, but lack the time, focus, and resources to dedicate the months necessary to be ready to interview for software development roles. They have to financially support themselves and their families, while studying and learning.
These impactful “needs” created a program called Project Underdog where 8-12 mentees are paired with weekly mentors to prepare them to secure a software engineering job by the end of the program. They are given 3-months of financial assistance so they can focus on their goals.
Over 30 students have gone through Project Underdogs and Rick reports back that “nearly everyone who took part in our stipend program and enrolled in a Nanodegree was hired, mentioning that they attribute much of their success to Udacity.” Here are few of the graduate’s stories.
Udacity has been the perfect platform for what Rick envisioned as a partnership for Underdog Devs. Mentors and mentees had something clear, specific direction within a set timeframe. The organization has zero operating costs and is run entirely by volunteers. One superstar is Jessica McKellar, who trains all the mentors who help the mentees. Having walked in the shoes of many of the people who go through the program, Rick believes in “growing flowers, not picking flowers”.
Learn more about Underdog Devs:
Apple’s Beyond WWDC
https://www.freethink.com/social-change/former-prisoners
https://www.businessinsider.com/underdog-devs-coding-bootcamp-tech-skills-developers-mobile-former-felon-2021-9
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