We are excited to announce The Laurel Fund, Ada’s first scholarship
opportunity! The goal of the Laurel Fund is to provide funds to cover the living expenses of
two or more Ada students during the initial classroom instruction portion of
the Ada program. After the initial 6-months instruction portion is complete,
students participate in 5-month paid internships with Seattle-area software
companies. But, during the initial, intensive instruction phase, it can be difficult to make ends meet. The Laurel Fund is intended help with that.
Laurel Nicholes, who passed away from illness in December
2017, was a leader and innovator in the Seattle technology community, a
passionate knowledge architect, and an influential content strategy architect.
Laurel’s life passion was mentoring talented people from underrepresented
groups and helping them advance their careers in the technology industry. The
Laurel Fund is an opportunity to honor her memory by continuing her legacy of
supporting and promoting women and gender diverse people in the technology
industry. Her passion aligns perfectly with Ada’s mission to diversify tech by providing women and gender diverse people the skills, experience and community support to become professional software developers who contribute to changing the world with software.
There are dozens of people in the technology industry today who can say that
their lives were deeply changed for the better because of Laurel, whether it
was through mentorship, coaching, a job opportunity, a promotion, a career
change, or just help making a fresh start in a new city. This scholarship will help change the recipient’s lives in the same way Laurel
helped change so many others .
Thank you to everyone who donates to this cause. We are grateful for your
support. If you are interested in making a gift to the Laurel Fund, here is the link to the GoFundMe campaign: https://www.gofundme.com/the-laurel-fund