Thanks to support from PepsiCo, IT Web and Software Developer graduate Malachi Moore is taking his virtual survival skills into the financial world
Malachi Moore holding his degree.
At a young age, Malachi Moore acquired an impressive set of skills: He learned how to craft his own tools, gather his own firewood and find his own food. They came in handy when he battled hardships, but fear not: He never faced any real danger, didn’t break a sweat and hardly left his couch. He did all that in a virtual reality — the world of Minecraft, one of the most popular video games ever created. “I absolutely loved Minecraft. I played it all the time. I loved games where you could build stuff,” Moore said. “Everything I love about computers started with that.” Now he has turned that passion into a professional path in the real world. In May 2026, Moore earned an associate degree from Milwaukee Area Technical College’s IT Web and Software Developer program, thanks to a scholarship from the PepsiCo Foundation. Established in 1962, the PepsiCo Foundation is the philanthropic arm of PepsiCo.
The PepsiCo Foundation Uplift Scholars program offers financial assistance, support, professional development and employer networking opportunities to students pursuing associate degrees, technical diplomas and professional certificates. Since 2021, the scholarship program has provided financial support to more than 4,000 students across the country. “Higher education is the single most important tool we have for addressing economic mobility,” said Dr. Anthony Cruz, MATC’s president. “The funds from the PepsiCo Foundation will help eliminate a financial barrier and enable students to enroll, stay and graduate from MATC.
Our students get the skills to secure high-paying, family-supporting jobs, and our employer partners in the region can alleviate their workforce shortages.” A mere 10 days after graduating from MATC, Moore started a yearlong internship as a business process engineer at Baird, an international financial services firm based in Milwaukee. “The PepsiCo scholarship came at the exact right time,” Moore said. “It came at a time when I was unsure how I was going to pay for school, so it helped a lot.” Moore fell in love with technology after he and a friend took a computer class at Rufus King High School in Milwaukee. He graduated in 2022 and attended the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater for a year. He liked the school, but financial constraints forced him back to Milwaukee. He started working at the Apple Store in Glendale, Wisconsin, in December 2023. After five months, he was promoted to technical specialist, assessing and diagnosing problems with iPhones, iPads and Apple watches. “I love working at the store,” he said. “I love troubleshooting and solving problems. I have really developed my people skills and my team skills by working with customers.”
In the fall of 2024, he decided to return to school and enrolled at MATC. Moore admitted he didn’t enjoy his first year at MATC. “I had a rough time transitioning from Whitewater. I was a little bit discouraged. But with support from family, friends, and the staff and advisors at MATC, I was able to get back on track.” With that help, Moore made the honor roll twice and spent the summer of 2025 as an intern at Northwestern Mutual Insurance. He received an email about the PepsiCo scholarship and applied. In September 2022, MATC became the only technical college in Wisconsin to receive money for the PepsiCo Uplift Scholars program. During the next two years, more than 150 students each received a $2,000 scholarship to complete their degrees. In the summer of 2025, the PepsiCo Foundation gave the MATC Foundation, the college’s philanthropic partner, an additional $180,500 for the 2025-26 school year.
MATC was one of 15 schools across the country that PepsiCo renewed its relationship with, said Naomi Pollek, who leads corporate and employer relations for the MATC Foundation. Moore is looking forward to starting at Baird. “Working there is a great step towards my long-term career goals in software engineering,” he said. “I’ll be gaining hands-on experience building real solutions in the financial services space.” This fall, by using MATC’s seamless transfer program, he started classes at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He plans to earn a bachelor’s degree in computer science and then attend graduate school. Eventually, he wants to research how technology, especially AI systems and machine learning, intersects with other fields such as business, finance and healthcare. “My MATC instructors were great about keeping us current about how AI worked and how we can use it,” Moore said. “I don’t think we need to fear AI. I see AI as a tool that can be used. But we also need to be aware of how much water we’re using to develop it. We need to figure out how to move forward while not harming the environment.”