NSS Adds 5 Scholarships in Memory of Asher Styers

What a great way to kick off our 10th anniversary year! Thanks to your generosity during The Big Payback, we'll be able to support ten students with $1,000 scholarships! Together we raised $10,402 to help deserving students and finished 95th on the leaderboard out of 881 participating non-profits! Whether your gift was large or small, it will make a big impact.

NSS wants to further this impact and honor Asher Styers, a student in Web Development Cohort Evening 17 who passed away this spring. In his memory, we are adding five additional $1,000 scholarships to our $10,402 total. Ash’s classmates spoke very highly of their time with him and expressed their appreciation for his support and humor when the coding got tough. Here’s what Cohort E17 had to say about Ash’s impact:

“He inspired me often to ask questions no matter how confused I felt or when things really got in the weeds, Ash was always quick to offer his support by connecting through conversation and of course, via pet party interludes on Zoom.”

“He was a very sweet, kind person. Wise beyond his years. He cared so much about his teammates succeeding that he would take every opportunity to help each of them. He was the best of us.”

“Besides being a talented artist and ambitious student, he brought a strong sense of curiosity, humor and love of cats to the table which ultimately made learning to code a much more enjoyable experience.”

“In no way shape or form do these words even come close to encompassing who we knew Ash to be but I am grateful to have existed in this short time with him.”

“Asher will be greatly missed and fondly remembered.”

“The idea for this scholarship came from Asher’s instructional team as a way to honor his memory and the contributions he made as a student while at NSS,” shares John Wark, founder & CEO. “We hope the recipients of these scholarships will embrace the learning experience and support their classmates in the same way that Asher did.”

These five additional scholarships will be awarded to part-time students from under-represented groups in tech to lessen the financial barrier to their new careers.

If you missed your chance to give during The Big Payback, head over to our donation page and learn how you can support NSS year-round.

Stay tuned for more fun as we celebrate 10 years of NSS and subscribe to our new podcast 10 Years | 2000 Journeys as we reflect on 10 years of tech in Nashville.