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How a STEM Program for Single Mothers Led to a Job at Cox

Kash Williams Dec 2024 1

For Kasius “Kash” Williams, starting over is nothing new. 

At 13, she adjusted to life in Upstate New York after her family’s move from Germany. As a young adult, she embraced entrepreneurship, launching her own small business. Most recently, she left NYC during the COVID-19 pandemic to build a better life for her two kids in Georgia. 

In Atlanta, her fresh start included a career pivot into tech, made possible by local nonprofit Women in Technology (WIT). Kash joined WIT’s 2023 cohort of its Single Mothers’ Program (SMP), where she earned an accelerated certificate in IT and cybersecurity.  

Within a few months, Kash had successfully landed her first tech role as a junior intelligent automation engineer at Cox. It felt like a full-circle journey to start her career at a company that’s been a longtime supporter of women and girls in STEM. 

“I’m still in shock and eternally grateful for the opportunity,” Kash said.  

Discovering a passion for technology 

When Kash started the 17-week accelerated program in June 2023, she dove headfirst into the material and coursework.  

“My mind was blown about IT,” she said. “I didn’t know how big the world of the Internet of Things is.” 

She also had a deep appreciation for the cybersecurity portion of the program, as she’d been a victim of identify fraud in the past. Her newfound knowledge has inspired her to focus on making tech safer. 

My children who are six and 11 now, both go to tech schools and really into it,” she said. “I want to make sure that they are safe, so we can enjoy technology and watch it grow and see what it can do.” 

Winning the “job lottery” 

As graduation approached, Kash and other top students from the program benefitted from personalized career coaching during their job search. She appreciated the help she received in finding entry-level tech jobs, one of which was the role she accepted at Cox in early 2024. 

“I feel like I hit the job lottery,” she said. “The fact that Cox took a chance on me being net-new is such a blessing. I’m still pinching myself that I have a job in tech.” 

Kash is excited to be a part of a newer team within the company, where she’s learning more about robotic process automation (RPA). 

“What I'm working on right now is really cool stuff: automation with bots,” she said. “My kids were like, ‘Are there robots?’ and I explained that these are bots that work in the computer, the web and the cloud.’” 

A long-term mindset 

Kash was surprised by the advice she received from her leaders during her first few weeks at Cox: to focus on building relationships early on.  

“I was so worried about understanding what I was doing and doing a good job, but like 90% of this job is trainable,” Kash said. “The connections that you make can take you further than what you’re doing and what you’re learning.” 

Kash is still at the very beginning of her journey at Cox, and while she has ideas of where she wants to take her career next, she’s not planning on going anywhere else. 

“If I move from being an RPA developer, I would love to be a people manager in this space,” she said. “Being in tech right now, I feel that the things that I’m doing and working on right now will outlive me — and that’s huge.” 

Beyond the meaningful work she’s doing, Kash sees a long-term future for herself at Cox because of the company’s values: “We’re people, no matter what background we come from or where we are in life. You’re human first; a family comes first, and then work, and that’s beautiful. It makes you want to do a good job and stay longer.” 

Want to join a company that invests in people’s potential? Explore tech careers at Cox and sign up for our Talent Community. 

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