Anyone who knows me knows I have a relentless motivation for knowledge and a constant drive to achieve. To make a long story short I had a great career path with a national nonprofit until my position was phased out in a corporate re-organization. I applied with many companies and charities over the following months with no luck. I thought my education was lacking so I went back to school full-time and earned an Associates degree in Computer Programming for the Web but that didn't help. It wasn't until I found Merivis and got certified in Salesforce that my luck finally changed. 

Merivis provided training and job readiness, but more than that they are a family within a family and a vital network of support. My mentor, Mary, has been a true source of inspiration, she even interviewed me for a position at her previous company, as well as volunteered as a reference on my job applications, and we still stay in regular contact. I've met so many awesome people at Salesforce Saturdays, and SF Wednesdays, and Meet-ups and on and on and on! After attending Cohort 3, and passing the Admin 201 certification, Hector sent regular emails about opportunities with connections Merivis has made in the Austin business community. During this transition I found a job at a company that uses Salesforce extensively, so I got some great experience as a user on the Service Cloud and I started mentoring with their great Salesforce team as a path to an entry-level position with them. THEN, when Hector was notifying alumni about the Platform App Builder class he also told me about a position that turned out to be a perfect fit for me and now I am so proud to say that I am the Junior Salesforce Administrator for Tito's Handmade Vodka!! 

I would appreciate any support you can provide to Merivis because I am living proof that the work they are doing is life-changing, and there are so many more worthy Veterans that deserve the chance to utilize Merivis as a way to get certified and get on with their own happy ending story!! 

Merivis Foundation supports veterans preparing for their next missions through training, mentorship and job readiness for Salesforce cloud technology positions.  With a growing need for Salesforce certified professionals and an increasing number of underemployed of veterans in the country, we bridge the gap to help veterans transition to civilian life and find great careers. Since we started in 2015, Merivis has impacted the lives of nearly 100 military veterans by supporting them in their transition to civilian careers. Through our Salesforce training programs, we've put them on the path to growing, in-demand technology roles and we couldn't have done it without every member of the Merivis community.

We invite those that have been a part of Merivis as students, alumni, volunteers, coaches, sponsors, advocates and friends to join the Merivis fundraising team in spreading the word and raising funds to host additional programs in support our out veterans. Our goal is to have 30 individuals raise $1,000 each before Veteran's Day and celebrate with us on Saturday, November 10th at the Accenture Memorial Walk benefitting Merivis.

Thank you to KLRU for featuring Sheldon Simmons, our board member and graduate of the first Merivis cohort in their American Graduate series. To view more stories from the KLRU series "American Graduate: Getting America to Work" visit klru.org/americangraduate