36 | JUNE 11 • 2020 

business SPOTlight

brought to you in partnership with 
B I R M I N G H A M

W

hen corporate and business 
leaders gather in their c-suites 
these days, we remind our-
selves of an adage as old as business: “A 
company is only as healthy as the com-
munity it serves.”
This ethic has never been truer than it 
is today — when the African American 
community has been inflicted with what 
my friend the Rev. Wendell Anthony 

calls “a pandemic within a pandem-
ic.” The first assault came in a silent 
storm — the coronavirus that dispro-
portionately killed African Americans 
and exposed the racial disparity in U.S. 
health care. The second attack came with 
an achingly familiar cry for help — “I 
can’
t breathe!” — as a white policeman 
plunged his knee into George Floyd’
s 
neck while bystanders videotaped the 

agonizing final nine minutes of his life.
We condemn Mr. Floyd’
s vile and vio-
lent murder and share the grief, fear and 
anger of our community and team mem-
bers at TCF Bank. We demand the pros-
ecution of every police officer complicit 
in this racist slaying. While we commend 
the vast majority of police who bring 
justice to the job without undue violence, 
there are still some in law enforcement 
who terrorize communities of color with 
impunity.
Many of us do not experience the fear 
and humiliation of getting stopped by law 
enforcement simply because of the color 
of our skin. We do not experience the 
invisible hand of bias and different treat-
ment when we go shopping or wait to be 
seated at a restaurant.
But we hear you. Our hearts go out to 
the men and women of our community 

We Accept 
This Challenge

essay

Gary Torgow

Detroit’s Tech Elevator 
Looks for Jewish Students
Hebrew Free Loan may be able to help with tuition.

M

ore than 40 million Americans 
have filed for unemployment 
since the start of the COVID-19 
pandemic, but one industry not hit nearly as 
hard is the tech industry. A shining example 
of that in Michigan is Tech Elevator. 
Tech Elevator, on the campus of Wayne 
State University, is a 14-week, full-time and 
in-person coding bootcamp, teaching stu-
dents to become software developers.
Tech Elevator students are seeing job 
offers come their way as companies look 
to onboard new technologies. Patricia 
Idema, the admissions coordinator for Tech 
Elevator’
s Detroit campus, is witnessing this 
firsthand.
“There was already a large demand 
for software developers in southeastern 
Michigan because there are a lot of finance 
and auto industry companies that need that 
talent,” Idema said. “But now it’
s booming 
from all kinds of different organizations that 
are suddenly encountering the challenge of 
reaching customers when they can’
t ‘
reach’
 

customers.” 
One of Tech Elevator’
s goals is to increas-
diversity in its ranks. 
“We want to break that stereotype that it’
s 
a white, male-dominated industry,” Idema 
said. “
At the Detroit campus, we have many 
female and POC (people of color) graduates 
in our program.” 
Tech Elevator is looking to make inroads 
into the Jewish community. Campus 
Director Jeff Jeung believes an underutilized 
resource to connect the two is Hebrew Free 
Loan, which provides interest-free, loans 
of up to $10,000 to local Jewish college stu-
dents in the Metro Detroit community.
Tuition for the 14-week Tech Elevator 
program is $15,500.
“In our mission to re-skill people in 
Metro Detroit, we’
re aware there can be a 
financial barrier to doing something like 
Tech Elevator,” Jeung said. “We see Hebrew 
Free Loan as an opportunity to really help 
those who maybe don’
t have the means to 
pay out of pocket, especially with every-

thing going on right now.” 
As life returns to a new normal, Idema 
has an elevator pitch (no pun intended) to 
recent college graduates and those looking 
to switch professions who may be looking to 
dip their toes into the tech industry. 
“In the midst of every crisis lies great 
opportunity,” Idema said, quoting Albert 
Einstein. “You may not be able to control 
what’
s happening in the world right now, 
but out of all of this uncertainty and chaos, 
you do have a choice to control what you do 
with it, and this may be a great opportunity 
to pursue something new.” 
Students who qualify should reach out to 
Hebrew Free Loan. “We’
re happy to help,” 
said executive director David Contorer. 

For more information, visit TechElevator.com.

DANNY SCHWARTZ CONTRIBUTING WRITER

TECH ELEVATOR

Students at 
Detroit Tech 
Elevator

