Milwaukee Business Journal Highlights i.c.stars Graduate Carlos Work to Launch Latinos in Tech MKE
Carlos Vasquez was born in Mexico and moved to Milwaukee at age seven. After high school, he worked in a factory for two years before quitting to pursue an interest in technology.
But he didn’t know where to turn. He searched online for local meetups and attended one that wasn’t a fit.
IT program i.c.stars hopes to get underrepresented communities in Milwaukee the training, experience they need
Ismael Lopez was working at a restaurant in Chicago when he was laid off due to the pandemic. He moved home to Milwaukee to find another job.
Lopez, 38, spent most of his career in the restaurant industry. He also had a talent for solving issues on smart devices and decided to get serious about a career in IT and computer science.
While attending classes at Milwaukee Area Technical College, Lopez was approached by a recruiter from i.c.stars about joining its program in Milwaukee.
“I thought it was a scam,” Lopez said, adding after talking to a few graduates of the program he decided to apply and is now halfway through the program.
i.c.stars Milwaukee Graudate Angel Delgado Cambray
I had been a waiter for ten years, before i.c.stars, working full time while also going to college. I was
studying Electrical Engineering, but the student loans just kept piling up and I couldn’t continue. I decided to try i.c.stars because I like technology, there was no cost to train, and trainees receive a stipend. If not for all that, I could not have made the move.
I thought that working in technology—starting with i.c.stars—would be a good fit for me. I enjoy working with organized systems, I’m comfortable with the software, and I like the creativity of problem-solving. The hardest part of the program is the long, twelve-hour days. The best thing is the help and support that you receive from instructors, fellow cohorts, alumni, and tech professionals. I had questions but there was always someone there to help me. I learned software,
i.c.stars Milwaukee recognized with the Champion of Diversity & Inclusion in Tech Award by the Milwaukee Business Journal
The Milwaukee Business Journal will honor 11 Milwaukee-area companies and individuals as part of our inaugural Tech Awards.
Among the winners are GE Healthcare, which is being honored for its “Artificial Intelligence in MRI” initiative, Sojourner Family Peace Center, which is being
honored for its “Centralized Data System” and Waterstone Mortgage, which is being honored for its “Digital Mortgage / Remote Online Notorization eClosing”
system. Neal Sample, Northwestern Mutual’s executive vice president and chief information officer, was chosen as “Technologist of the Year.” Sample leads the
technology organization at Northwestern Mutual, which includes approximately 2,500 employees and makes up more than a third of the company’s home office
workforce.
Panel: STEM is growing, but minorities still underrepresented
Growth and innovation in STEM has become a guiding force in the economy, but minorities continue to be underrepresented in these fields, according to a
Milwaukee business panel.Leaders from Northwestern Mutual, Milwaukee Area Technical College, Jet Constellations and IC Stars spoke at a virtual event put on
by Fuel Milwaukee to discuss the importance of diversity in science and technology.The failure of corporate leaders to properly integrate diversity into their hiring
strategies is the root cause of low numbers of women, African Americans and Hispanics in the industry, they said.
2020 in review: 6 of our most read pieces
As Covid-19 affected our personal and working lives, 2020 was a year of unimaginable change. Microsoft on the Issues covered topics including cybersecurity,
digital skills accessibility and more, and the pandemic influenced many of the stories we brought you.As we say goodbye to 2020, here’s a look at some of this
year’s most read stories, from the Puget Sound region and beyond. This is a look at i.c.stars, a rigorous, tech-focused program that provides young adults from low-
income communities with the tools to develop the technical and leadership skills needed for a career in technology, a field that continues to lack diversity and be in
high demand.
i.c.stars Milwaukee grows team, increases budget by 21% in a pandemic
The local nonprofit i.c. stars Milwaukee increased its fiscal 2021 budget by 21% as it looks to grow its Milwaukee team and support its mission as a tech training
hub despite the effects of the pandemic. i.c. stars was started in Chicago over 20 years ago. The organization expanded to Milwaukee in 2018 with the help of a
Dohmen Company Foundation sponsorship. It is currently based at 411 E. Wisconsin Ave. but is planning for its new home at the Eagleknit Innovation Hub at 507
S. Second St. The nonprofit is moving into the new facility in January. “Our goal is to provide access and opportunity to low-income adults to get into the tech
industry and to really help build diverse pipelines for talent for companies in Milwaukee and in the region we are in,” i.c. stars Milwaukee executive […]
Milwaukee Business Journal podcast features i.c. stars:opportunities for Milwaukee’s disadvantaged
Over the last two years, i.c. stars Milwaukee has produced 72 graduates, which have gone on to either start their own company, get hired at a local company, or pursue a degree in
technology.