Irene Sanchez was a pharmacy tech hoping to make a career change in 2019, when
she heard about Code the Dream (CTD) from a friend who was taking CTD’s free
classes.
“I had developed an interest in technology and programming and I wanted to pursue a
new career away from customer service,” Sanchez says. “I heard about the free classes
at Code the Dream, so I applied and got in.”
As part of Code the Dream’s 25th Cohort in 2021, Sanchez found an environment conducive to honing her skills.
“I loved the community aspect of the classes,” she says. “You can always reach out to mentors any time, and they are welcoming and willing to help. And even the students become a community. I liked to reach out to other students and code along with them.”
After completing her coursework, Sanchez was selected to be a Code the Dream Labs
Apprentice and became one of the apprentices selected as SAS Fellows. The CTD/SAS
Fellows partnership began when the two organizations worked together on the Hill
Reading Achievement Program educational app, designed to improve child literacy
rates.
In 2023, SAS brought on their first cohort of CTD apprentices to undergo training and
mentoring and gain real-world work experience addressing coding problems, creating
visual examples of user interface components, testing software, and checking design
elements.
The CTD/SAS Fellowship program — an early version of what is now the CTD Tandem
Apprenticeship program — provided apprentices on-the-job training and familiarized
them with a real-world tech workspace. SAS benefited from the apprentices work
product and the opportunity to hire them at the end of the fellowship term. Sanchez credits the Tandem Apprenticeship with providing crucial professional
development.
“The Tandem Apprenticeship gave me corporate experience while working alongside a
team of welcoming and supportive individuals,” she says. “The environment encouraged
me to challenge myself, refine my abilities, and develop key skills I needed for growth.”
Sanchez — and ALL of the other SAS Fellows — were hired by SAS in 2023 after
completing their program.
“We were so impressed with all of the apprentices. Their diverse life experiences and
strong technical training allowed them to contribute immediately while bringing diverse
insights and ideas to the table,” said Alex Boakye, Vice President of Solutions
Development for SAS. “SAS is eager to continue collaborating with Code the Dream on
this initiative.”
Sanchez is a rarity among tech professionals, where women hold about 30% of the
jobs, and Latinas only 2%. At Code the Dream, we are proud that the majority of our
students have identified as women or non-binary, another positive aspect of the
Tandem Apprenticeship program for employers committed to diversity.
Sanchez says she would recommend Code the Dream’s classes and apprenticeship
program to aspiring tech professionals.
“I gained so much knowledge in a short time, while also discovering more about myself
and my career aspirations. It was an incredibly enriching and transformative
experience,” she says.
Sanchez believes the program benefits employers as well, because a diverse workforce
is fundamental for companies that want to make the best products, she says.
“Diverse perspectives give us insight on people, things, ideas that could be overlooked,
thus creating more accurate and trustworthy software.”
