An Uber driver for the last year, Jonelle Bain is used to picking people up and taking them to their destinations. But earlier this month, she found herself in the passenger seat — and on her way to a very special event hosted by Uber.
After being picked up at her home in Flatbush, Brooklyn, she was driven to the New York Stock Exchange. There, she joined Uber employees, drivers, and executives, including Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, on the balcony of the NYSE to celebrate Uber’s historic debut as a publicly traded company.
“It was surreal — I still can’t believe it happened,” says Jonelle, who was one of a handful of drivers from around the world who was invited to represent Uber at the ceremony. “To have started as an Uber driver and now standing next to Dara for the opening bell was an incredible experience.”
Jonelle started driving for Uber — and then enrolled in Pursuit — at a turning point in her life. She had just split temporarily from her partner, the father of her two children, and was looking for ways to earn money. The freelance graphic design work she had been doing for the last 10 years started to dry up.
One phase of her life had come to a close, but another was just starting.
“The relationship ended, but it lit a fire under me,” says Jonelle, who had spent her career as a freelance graphic designer, DJ, and a technician at a fertility center. “I learned how to work harder and be more self sufficient. I’ve learned not to have expectations of anyone but myself. There’s so much I want to prove to myself, and Pursuit is helping me do that.”
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By driving for Uber, Jonelle was able to pay the bills, provide for her two young children (“diapers aren’t cheap,” she says), and have the flexibility to spend time with her family. At the same time, she hoped to pursue a career that allowed her to flex her artistic muscle. Software development — a high-paying career that would enable her to “bring my ideas to life” — was the perfect fit.
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Then, one day while she was driving passengers, an opportunity flashed across her iPhone screen. As part of a collaboration between Uber and Pursuit, she saw a notification for Pursuit on her app and decided to learn more about the organization’s four-year Fellowship. She liked that Pursuit charged nothing up front and provided 36 months of career advancement support in addition to 10 months of technical training; it showed her that Pursuit is invested in their Fellows and their success.
There was a time when Jonelle wasn’t sure what career path to take. Now, after completing Pursuit Core, she can go from driving on Uber’s platform to potentially developing the platform itself.
“Prior to Pursuit, the only thing I could do was change my MySpace page; I never thought I would be able to code,” she says. “Now I’m building websites. I’m going to the New York Stock Exchange. It’s amazing what I can do.”
Pursuit Fellow Jonelle Bain on stage with her teammates at Demo Days.
