Happy New Year, everyone! To help ring in 2016 and in honor of this year’s retiree David Letterman, I have decided to count down the top 10 best things that happened to me this year with Divergence Academy.
#10. Implementing suggestions
I love to implement suggestions from my students. It helps keep my program in check, as though I believe we offer the best data science education opportunities in North Texas, I also recognize there’s always room for improvement. Considering and implementing these suggestions has proven to be one of the most challenging but yet tremendously rewarding things that I do on a regular basis, and I thank my students for their honesty.
#9. Using social engagement tools
Tools like Meetup, Mailchimp, Eventbrite, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn have proven to be tremendously valuable in engaging with the data science community. I am so grateful for the opportunities we have had thanks to these amazing services.
#8. Reaching over 750 likes on Facebook
It’s always great to see people engaging with our content over on Facebook, and I am deeply humbled and grateful that we have reached over 750 likes. For the latest updates about the Academy, be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
#7. The people who’ve attended our seminars!
I am so grateful to be able to meet so many wonderful people on a regular basis. In fact, over 200 people have gone through our seminars and workshops, and I hope to meet more in the coming months.
#6. Settling our location
Our Academy is conveniently located in Addison at Office in the Park, right near the Galleria Dallas shopping center and Brookhaven College. We love that Office in the Park feels like various university campuses around the country, and that it is so close to some of the best restaurants in the DFW area. Seeing the place come together has been incredibly rewarding.
#5. Appearing on Startup Dallas
It was great to talk to Jason Croft about the Academy for an episode of Startup Dallas. If you have some spare time and would like to learn more about what we do, I’d highly recommend checking it out. Thanks to everyone over at Startup Dallas for the opportunity.
#4. All the help from the Town of Addison and Addison TreeHouse!
The Town of Addison and Addison TreeHouse have been so helpful in getting Divergence Academy’s name out there. It was great to be featured in Addison Magazine and on the Addison TreeHouse website. I am so grateful to everyone who was involved in making these things possible.
#3. Securing a partnership with Pave
We are so happy to have secured a partnership with Pave, a company that is helping to make our services accessible to more people, regardless of personal income.
#2. My team!
I wouldn’t be where I am today with the Academy if it wasn’t for my incredible team. I give special thanks to Mitch Camp, Beth Lahaie, Mike Guiffre, Durga Gadiraju, Dan Khanna, Krishna Kavi, Rick Rainey, Ashok Pai, and Desi Maes.
#1. Getting approved by the Texas Workforce Commission
We are so proud to have a Certificate of Approval from the Texas Workforce Commission. None of this would be possible if we didn’t have approval from the state. Getting approval was a long process that definitely tested our patience but it was well worth it. Thanks to everyone at TWC that made this Academy possible.
Until next time, Happy New Year!
– Sravan