For any student that might think education is not worth it; think again, because it really is.”

Steven Sprouls, 2017 Florence High School Graduate

Florence Unified School District students can succeed in their dreams to have careers that will take them across the world. Just ask 2017 Florence High School graduate, Steven Sprouls.

Sprouls is an Anthem resident who enrolled in Anthem K -8 in the third grade. Like most third graders, he did not have his future in sight -- he was more concerned about dominating the latest video game.

He was promoted from Anthem K-8 to Florence High School. During his freshman and sophomore years there, he did not have a specific career goal in mind, although he knew he was interested in computer science and software development.

While enrolled at Florence High School, Sprouls participated in the International Baccalaureate Program, which is part of a worldwide community of schools. The teachers work alongside students to help them develop the knowledge and skills needed for them to make the world a better place.

In this program, students have the opportunity to challenge themselves as much as they want. Teachers work across content areas to engage students and prepare them to be successful in life no matter where they may work or travel across the world.

Upon graduation from Florence High School, Sprouls was awarded a Lumberjack Scholarship to Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff which covered his tuition in full. Initially, Sprouls focused on a computer engineering degree program but shifted his course of study to applied computer science. It was there that he found his future aspirations.  

“The main reason I wanted to pursue a career in the technology industry is that I had always enjoyed playing with computers as a child and I wanted to learn how everything really worked,” Sprouls said. “The tech industry also boasts large salaries of course (allowing me to do all the things I want to do with my life) and has an amazing work-life balance. It provides me with flexibility to work from home if need be.”

He explained that he started his current career trajectory with an internship in the information technology department for Albertsons Companies.

“I barely did any coding, or anything related to what I do now, but getting that first internship on my resume was really important to put me on track,” Sprouls said.

Today, he is a solutions architect for Toloka, a Swiss-based company that supports data-related processes across the entire machine learning  lifecycle from data collection to model monitoring.

“As a solutions architect, it is my job to meet with my company's customers (other companies), and discuss their business needs, then put together a solution for whatever it is that their company needs to be done using our product, all within their budget,” Sprouls said. “The actual thing that we do is collect and annotate data that will be used for (artificial intelligence) and machine-learning algorithms. AI is trained via human input for the most part, which my company provides at a large scale. My future aspirations are only to continue advancing my career to a more senior position, but I would definitely like to stay working in the AI field for a long time since it is the most interesting and important technology in my opinion.”

He also is particularly excited about a new international venture.

“My upcoming trip to Turkey is just a company kickoff event for 2023, but I have always wanted to travel internationally, so I am looking forward to experiencing a different culture,” Srouls said. “I am also looking forward to meeting my coworkers, only a handful of which are other Americans.”

Sprouls offered this bit of advice for current Florence Unified School District students.

“For any student that might think education is not worth it; think again, because it really is,” he said. “Although I could never really see where my education could take me, I knew it was important. Looking back now, I wish I exerted more effort into my studies, because if you try just a little bit harder, make more of an effort in your work, do your homework, study and read, you could get a scholarship to the college or university of your choice, choose your career path and, your future will be much brighter. The possibilities are endless!”

Although Toby Haugen was not the principal when Sprouls attended Florence High School, he said that participation in the International Baccalaureate Program prepared Sprouls and other students for the challenges of college.

“With the skills and knowledge Steven began acquiring at Florence High School, Steven is more than prepared to positively represent our community, state and country as he begins this new chapter in his life,” Haugen said. “All of us at Florence High School are proud of Steven’s accomplishments thus far, and we can’t wait to see the impact he makes on the world.”

Rita Ann Ezzai Reznick is the director of public relations for the Florence Unified School District.