Entrepreneur Chris Moranci is determined to break the cycle of poverty and lack of technology education by equipping today’s youth with computer skills. He wants to achieve this with the Academy of Technology, which he plans to introduce in St. Petersburg and beyond.
Moranci recently opened a 5,000-square-foot learning lab called Rhythm Uptown in Tampa’s University Mall. LT3 Academy is a technology training accelerator that aims to create a pathway for students interested in learning about the business of coding, programming and engineering.
“We want to run our labs surrounded by schools where we can recruit students,” says CEO and co-founder Morassi. “It’s an alternative way for people to train without going into debt. This is free for them, and they can earn money while learning.
Learning Tomorrow’s Technology Today The LT3 team has two arms – the labs, physical space and an academy that includes training programs.
LT3 Academy offers pre-training and internship programs approved by the Florida Department of Education in technology occupations such as software development and cybersecurity.
One program is Pathway Accelerator, an eight-week in-person program that teaches high school youth the basics of technology.
The second level, called Onward, is a fully remote technology skills accelerator where participants are paid $15 an hour for 21 hours per week.
“Next time people get real work experience during training, it’s a tech bootcamp on steroids,” he said.
The final phase, called Upward, follows the Continuum Program and connects participants with tech companies looking for full-time talent in the entrepreneurship program.
Moranci’s first class of 10 students graduated from the PAZ program this month, and LT3 is preparing to board a new class of 20 students.
“We are closing in on an agreement with a key strategic partner to enable us to run this program year-round and work directly with high schools. With the new model, we can train high school students remotely during the week and come in on Saturdays for live work sessions.”
“We can finally address the lack of computer science education in our high schools. When we do that and show success, we hope to get the funding to scale this up to other clusters.”
LT3 Academy will initially run the program at five high schools around Uptown, around the mall and at the University of South Florida.
“We plan to take this model across the state. The next stop is Pinellas County, but we hit a roadblock and are now reevaluating those plans,” he said. We want to open a site.”
An ideal location for the academy/technology lab would be Tyrone Square Mall. “I would love to have this academy in the mall. It aligns with the same vision we saw in Tampa that can change people’s lives,” Moranci explained.
Moranci also said the floor is open for large local employers to meet and work with LT3 Group, which is currently working with small and medium-sized companies.
Breaking the cycle first hand
Moranchi’s passion for technology education stems from his struggles.
“My father dropped out of school at the age of 10, the first of 12 children. He became a bagger at a grocery store and my grandmother knew our family would be poor if he continued with this and she paid for an apprenticeship program for him, and our family rose from the ashes,” Moranci said.
After that, his father opened his own business and supported the family. Some family members continued the family business in tech and banking.
“When we talk about building strength, the only way to do this is through workforce development in high-paying occupations,” he said. “This is very personal to me, I know that all it takes is one person jumping into our program and going full throttle, and it can change the destiny of their family and themselves. We need to invest in young people before they give up on society and say, ‘You can do this.’
