LUFKIN, Texas — The Legacy Institute for Financial Empowerment (LIFE) and Degree Partners have launched the Deep East Texas IT Launchpad, a new partnership that helps working adults in Deep East Texas earn industry-recognized Information Technology (IT) certifications and an affordable online college degree through one guided program, without quitting their jobs or leaving their communities. The organizations will come together to celebrate the launch with community luncheons in Lufkin on Thursday, September 17, and in Jasper on Friday, September 18.
The program combines LIFE’s local IT training, financial coaching, and career support with Degree Partners’ college and career advising and success coaching. Students earn accredited associate and bachelor’s degrees online on a schedule that works around their job and family, without putting either on hold. Each week, they meet with their personal Degree Partners coach, who helps them stay encouraged and accountable to their goals and address barriers that might otherwise cause them to quit, such as academic challenges, unexpected expenses, or juggling work and caretaking alongside school. Along the way, participants earn Google certifications at no cost through LIFE. For students who earn their bachelor’s degree, LIFE sponsors a CompTIA Security+ certification exam; students enroll in Security+ prep within 90 days of graduation.
In Deep East Texas, only about one in five adults holds a college degree, compared to one in two adults nationwide. The data is clear that degree attainment is directly correlated with better jobs, higher wages, and even improved health. The Deep East Texas IT Launchpad was built not only to help close the college completion gap with a flexible, supported pathway, and prepare its graduates for thriving careers in IT. The future outlook for IT jobs is exceptionally strong, projected to grow much faster than the national average across all occupations over the next decade and entry-level IT jobs in Texas start between $40,000 and $70,000 a year. Now there is a pathway for Deep East Texans to earn integrated degrees and IT certifications and launch careers locally in IT. The first group of students starts this fall, and enrollment is open now.
“We see it every day at LIFE. People in our community are ready to work hard, they just need a real path that offers them the flexibility that fits their lives. The Deep East Texas IT Launchpad is that path. You can keep your job, take care of your family, and still build a career in IT without leaving East Texas,” said Joe Ceasar, Executive Director of LIFE.
“Degree Partners exists for students who are talented and ambitious, but overlooked and undervalued. Our program gives them a new way to develop and demonstrate mastery of knowledge, skills, and behaviors to themselves and to their employers. We are thrilled to partner with LIFE to bring flexible, affordable degrees to a region that deserves more options, and to do so with a trusted local organization leading the way,” said Lacey Pittman Tomanek, Executive Director of Degree Partners.
The Deep East Texas IT Launchpad is supported through a $450,000 grant awarded by Trellis Foundation, a statewide foundation that advances educational opportunities in Texas by supporting postsecondary programs, practices, and systems that reduce disparities and promote student success.
“We are excited to see LIFE and Degree Partners—two organizations with a proven record of impact and success—join forces for this vital initiative. This collaboration will empower adult learners in Deep East Texas and provide a model for economic mobility and opportunity that can support families and enhance communities,” said Kristin Boyer, President & CEO at Trellis Foundation.
Community Launch Events
The public is invited to two launch luncheons: Thursday, September 17 at LIFE, 1221 Abney Ave., Lufkin, Texas, and Friday, September 18 at LIFE, 750 E. Gipson St., Building 3, Suite 310, Jasper, Texas. Both events run from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Lunch is provided. RSVP online here, call (936) 209-2085, or email mmartinez@legacy-institute.org.
To learn more or apply, visit www.degreepartners.org/it-launchpad.