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BLOOMINGTON – Stephanie Etheridge, ������Ƶ software development alumna, earned the Salesforce Platform Developer I Certification in Oct. By achieving this credential, Etheridge is now certified to build custom applications on the Salesforce platform and is eligible for many Salesforce developer jobs.

Etheridge was selected to participate in the inaugural Salesforce Pathfinder program in June 2018, after she graduated magna cum laude with an Associate of Applied Science in Software Development in May 2017. This workforce training program is a partnership between Salesforce and colleges to provide graduates with custom software development training on the Salesforce platform.

“The opportunity to apply for this program came to me thanks to Dr. Diana Nixon,” said Etheridge. “This is just another example of ������Ƶ’s staff seeking opportunities for their students to excel.”

Etheridge enrolled at ������Ƶ in Jan. 2016 because she wanted to change her career path.

“After using my Accounting degree for 15 years, my place of employment decided to restructure and I lost my job,” said Etheridge. “I viewed the loss of my job as an opportunity to seek a new career path. I needed a new skill set at an affordable cost, in a reasonable time frame, and I knew that ������Ƶ could offer this.”

Etheridge chose to pursue a degree in the software development field after speaking with faculty members Dr. Diana Nixon and Chris Carroll, dean of the school of information technology.

“The staff in the School of Information Technology work tirelessly to give their students the education and skills needed in order to be ready to enter the workforce,” said Etheridge. “Most importantly, the staff actively seeks opportunities for their students to gain real-world work experience. They do this by working with local agencies and employers to design curriculum that will give students skills sought by local employers, and by partnering with the local employers to make internship opportunities available.”

While still a student, Etheridge landed two software development internships. She worked at Cook, Inc. in Spencer and at Artisan Electronics, WestGate at Crane.

She also participated in many professional development opportunities. Etheridge competed and won first place in the computer science category and second place in the software development category at the statewide IT challenge in Indianapolis. She also volunteered for two years with the IT club to teach coding workshops to Clear Creek Elementary School students, as part of the “Hour of Code” coding outreach program. After she graduated, she continued her volunteerism and helped teach area girls to code as part of the “Girls Who Code” coding outreach program at ������Ƶ.

“My experience at ������Ƶ helped me to gain confidence in my new skills by allowing me to step outside my comfort zone and try new things,” said Etheridge. “������Ƶ Bloomington staff had confidence in me when I did not.”

������Ƶ Bloomington offers eight associate degree programs in the IT field: computer science, cyber security-information assurance, database management and administration, informatics, information technology support, network infrastructure, server administration, and software development. For information about ������Ƶ information technology associate degree programs, visit ivytech.edu/computers.