How Volunteerism Leads to Full Time STEM Roles

For Black History Month, we’ve been amplifying the voices and accomplishments of Code2College students and volunteers from the Black community. For this community highlight, we’re taking a look at the profound impact Code2College champion Hass Johnson had on program alumnus Adhan R.

At a resume development workshop, Adhan worked one-on-one with Hass Johnson (LogicMonitor), a meeting that Adhan says was the turning point of his career. “Hass drove me to champion myself on my resume,” says Adhan, a direction he otherwise would never have taken. Due to its strength and confidence, Adhan’s resume was selected for the annual Code2College Resume Book, a collection of student resumes available for purchase by our corporate partners. 

From Left: Hass Johnson, Carmen Johnson, Jennifer Parker and Adhan R. are reunited at our third annual IDEA Awards, where Adhan got to catch them up on his exciting news!

Enter Jennifer Parker (WP Engine). Adhan’s resume caught the eye of Jennifer, who then advocated for Forcepoint to interview Adhan for a paid, technical internship. Not only did Adhan land that internship, but Jennifer became his manager and mentor, helping him develop as a STEM professional. This experience only begot more opportunities for Adhan to grow his confidence and technical skills and expand his professional network. 

“Without Hass’ advice, my resume would not have caught Jennifer’s eye. I could have missed one of the most impactful early experiences in my life and career.”

Adhan R., Code2College ’19, UT Austin ’23, Upcoming Software Engineer at Silicon Labs

But Adhan’s story doesn’t end there.

Fast forward to our third annual IDEA Awards in November 2022, and Adhan was able to catch up with Hass and Jennifer on his academic success at UT Austin and some exciting news – he was able to land a full time position as a Software Engineer at Silicon Labs!

“[Code2College, the Resume Book and Hass Johnson] were instrumental in kick-starting my career. I can’t emphasize this enough!”

Adhan R., Code2College ’19, UT Austin ’23, Upcoming Software Engineer at Silicon Labs

Thank you so much Hass, Jennifer and all of our incredible volunteers from the Black community. The time you dedicate to empowering historically underestimated students is bringing us ever closer to diversity in STEM.

To learn more about the Code2College Resume Book, please send an email to growth@code2college.org

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