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Rick Barretto knew he wanted to be a tech entrepreneur since he was a kid designing games for his Atari in the 1970s.
But the Carmel resident knows most career paths aren’t so obvious. So, after achieving success as an entrepreneur, in 2018 he and his wife, Cara Barretto, launched Hope Training Academy, which offers education, certification and apprenticeships for those exploring a career in tech.
The academy will soon open a second location on the fourth floor of Circle Centre Mall in downtown Indianapolis. Some of its students will be supported through scholarships funded by players of a collection of retro video game systems open daily to the public one floor below. Video Game Palooza Charity Arcade opened earlier this year featuring 60 classic freestanding machines with options that include Mario Brothers, Donkey Kong and Ms. Pac Man.
The Barrettos have previously taken the charity arcade on the road to various events, but this marks the first permanent home for the collection. They hope it spurs interest in Hope Training Academy – to be located in a 24,000-square-foot space on the fourth floor that previously was home to Brown Mackie College and Purdue Polytechnic High School – and Circle Centre, which is in the midst of a transformation under new ownership.
“(The space) has been sitting vacant, so we’re going to be filling that up with students and partner organizations that have wraparound services,” Rick Barretto said. “It’s really a thing to reach out to the community to drive traffic to the mall, to gain understanding, to create jobs. The arcade is just one part of that.”
