ITWorks in the Drexel Triangle

ITWorks, sponsored by NPower PA, is a program aimed at training young individuals from the ages of 18 to 24 to be better prepared to enter the workforce in today's competitive economic climate. Targeting the over 70,000 underprivileged youths of southeastern Pa. who are neither in school nor employed, ITWorks' 16-week long information technology training program has come to a close and the first class of this area is slated to graduate Feb. 2, in the Mitchell Auditorium in the Bossone Center.

Anthony Pisapia, director of fundraising and communications at NPower PA, spoke about the program, hailing it as an innovative and unprecedented approach that offers opportunities in the job sector for the underprivileged, which also brings diversity in employment into the job sector.

"First[ly], it's free for the student due to the generosity of our donors," Pisapia said.

According to Pisapia. the students who are recruited into the program are considered "at high risk for life-long poverty. They are working less than 15 hours a week, they typically earn less than $10,000 per year, they have high school diplomas, but little beyond that."

Pisapia contrasts ITWorks with competing programs that cost thousands of dollars with the promise of a technical certification. He believes that students shouldn't be burdened with debt in the pursuit of an education.

"With this demographic of student that debt could be crushing," Pisapia said.

Pisapia was enthusiastic about the support ITWorks has received from Drexel. Charles Williams, professor and head of the Center for Prevention of School Age Violence at Drexel, serves as the chair of the ITWorks Advisory Committee. Pisapia said Williams' input has been "critical" to the design of the program and that his research has given the program "access to [the] best practices from youth programs across the country."

William Lynch, dean of the Goodwin School, provided a computer lab at the Goodwin School for the students. According to Pisapia, The students of ITWorks felt welcomed by Drexel and now view the University as "part of [their] extended family."

"That says a lot to me about the kind of school Drexel is and the kind of people who lead the University," Pisapia said. "We are very thankful to Drexel University, as are each of these students."

The students of the program have taken up internships at businesses like PriceWaterhouse Coopers and Brandywine Reality Trust. Faced with hardships, many students of the program have overcome obstacles in gaining their education.

Lila Santos, 24, was a single parent who enrolled in the program to be a role model for her son. "ITWorks gave me hope when I thought there were no more chances," she wrote in her statement.

Gary Maxwell Jr., 22, said he grew up as "a kid that would never do anything with his life," but that the program gave him a sense of direction and clarity.

Solenny Herrera, 24, said, "I grew up under difficult circumstances. My father did not believe in women being educated outside the home. Through much resistance and lack of support, I was able to attend school which eventually led me to apply to the ITWorks program."

Pisapia readily admits that students are facing a difficult job market these days. When asked his advice to young people who are in search of jobs, he said "Do everything you do with passion and gusto and people will notice."

"Coming out of college I held four jobs simultaneously, three of them were unpaid and one paid the rent…I worked around the clock but I met people, learned a lot, and advanced quickly. I [still] use every skill I learned. I very literally got four times the amount of experience as my peers in a quarter of the time," Pisapia said.

The approach NPower takes to tackling youth delinquency or youth unemployment is preventative rather than reactionary. The program aims to use education not as a punishment for young people, but as an opportunity.

Drexel, along with ING Direct, Bank of America, SAP America, Reed Elsevier, The United Way of SEPA and The Henrietta Tower Wurts Memorial Fund support NPower PA, a nonprofit that provides technology services to more than 350 nonprofit organizations locally.