As Merivis continues to grow its alumni over the years, VetForce has been kind to invite each of the last two years a few of our alumni to Salesforce’s TrailheaDX conference in San Francisco. TrailheaDX is Salesforce’s developer conference and a great way for attendees to take a few trails, get a certification or two and get to know where the products of Salesforce are going. Below are a few stories from three of our Merivis alumni who attended for the first time this year.
“When one of my friend suggested me to join Merivis Foundation about 6 months ago, I was not sure what I was getting into. I had never heard of Salesforce, Vetforce or Merivis Foundation. I researched them online, I only found good things about them. I became a Cohort IV member and met new friends, fellow Veterans, mentors, all the members from the foundation itself. The care and passion they showed towards us (they still do) was phenomenal. I felt like the part of a big family. Even after the class had ended, I kept receiving emails from the Foundation about my well-being and job search process, possible job leads, mixer opportunities, tips on successful interviews etc. And the biggest excitement came when Hector asked me if I wanted to be part of TrailheaDX 2018. I had read about the experience by Sheldon on the blog on Merivis’s website. So I immediately said ‘Yes’. I had imagined fun but when I actually got to experience it, I am beyond happy. I made a lot of friends, met many people who genuinely care about Veterans and want to help them be a part of Salesforce Ohana. And I was amazed at how approachable people were. I got to personally meet Tony Prophet at the Salesforce Tower. Jared Morris hung out with us at the Equality Award. The two day event was full of fun, learning opportunities and swags. I came back with a bunch of memories that will last a long time. Thank you Merivis Foundation. I hope to pay this forward to my fellow veterans in the future.” – Deepak Chaulagain – Cohort 4
“As a a professional, Veteran and Salesforce evangelist this past weekend at TrailheaDX was probably one if not the highlight of the year for me personally. Knowing that there are other Veterans that have been awaken to Salesforce and leverage that to make paths into their own careers is fantastic. Merivis and Vetforce are not only talking about putting veterans at the forefront they are actually producing results! The TrailheaDX was a roller coast of an event, with anxiety, fear, happiness, exhaustion, laughter, and relatable experience that I wouldn’t change for the world. Thanks to Merivis and Vetforce for the ticket to the ride!” – Manuel Gallardo – Cohort 2
“Since coming back from the TrailheadDX conference I have re-engaged with the success community and attended my local non-profit users group’s April meeting as well as Salesforce Saturday where I am struck by the supportive, helpful problem-solvers who take an interest in helping each other skill-up for personal growth and to empower the organizations they serve. TrailheadDX 18 was an exceptional opportunity to meet other people involved in the Salesforce Community and to see first hand how supportive Salesforce is to Veterans through the Vetforce program and partners such as the Merivis Foundation. Meeting with the people behind Vetforce gave me a new appreciation for how energetically engaged they are in helping Veterans gain Salesforce skills and certifications and find rewarding positions that are a great match for the skills developed in the pursuit of their prior military experiences. There are broad horizons for what the powerful and adaptable platform known as Salesforce can do and Veterans bring a unique set of attributes suited to helping businesses and non-profits alike get the most out of what Salesforce offers. Vetforce is a great example of something that brings the ideal people to a great toolset and empowers them to do great things to the mutual benefit of everyone involved.” – Daniel Carpenter (Cohort 3)
- Tags: Salesforce, Salesforce.com, Trailhead, TrailheaDX
