
On Saturday, June 4, twenty-six Madison high school students were honored for completing UW-Madison’s Information Technology Academy (ITA), an intensive technology training and college preparatory program. All twenty-six students in this year’s graduating class are planning to attend higher education institutions this fall, and eight of them will be attending UW-Madison.
The graduation celebration was held on Saturday, June 4, 2016 at the Lowell Center in Madison. Catalino Tolejano delivered the Keynote Address to the graduating class. Mr. Tolejano is a process design and service management guru who came to Madison after working as an IT consultant with Accenture, State Farm, and Johnson Wax Professional for 15 years. Currently, Mr. Tolejano is an Information Technology Service Management Architect at Madison College.
Among other impressive students, this year’s graduating class includes Gabriel Saiz, a 2016 U.S. Presidential Scholar. The prestigious honor from the U.S. Department of Education recognizes just 160 high school students across the nation each year for their demonstrated ability and accomplishment in career and technical education fields.
Estefany Armenta, another 2016 ITA Graduate, received the ITA Student of the Year Award for her outstanding work during the 2015-2016 school year as a role model and dedicated ITA scholar.
ITA-Madison, one of the three ITA programs, is a four-year pre-college program that provides academic skills as well as hands-on training and access to technology for diverse students attending Madison public schools. During their four-year ITA experience, the students meet twice a month during the academic year to learn web design, coding, graphic design, and many other technology skills. ITA also includes two three-year programs in the Oneida and Lac du Flambeau communities. Next year, the graduating class will include students from all three programs.