Jefferson County Public Schools is working with a local technology education company, Tech-Nique, to teach students about the industry. Program Director from Tech-Nique Angelica McClendon says the goal is to make jobs in the tech industry more achievable for women of color. “There’s so many jobs left open due to the lack of education within the tech field, so hopefully we can bridge that gap between students that could be in those high lucrative jobs,” McClendon said.The All That Tech conference was held at Roots 101 from June 6 to June 9. The program aimed at introducing girls of color to computer science careers. The students had the opportunity to work in many different sectors of computer science, including virtual reality, artificial intelligence, sonic-pi, video game design and more. The conference tripled its attendance from last year, going from 40 participants in 2021 to 120 this year. Program Director from Tech-Nique Angelica McClendon says the students were enthusiastic every day. “Honestly, I’ve seen them be empowered. I see them come every day and they’re willing to try new things, and they’re willing to learn” McClendon said. “And it’s exciting! It’s empowering to see that something they might not of thought they could be in, they now see themselves in.”Julieana Johnson, a junior at Brown High School, says she attended the conference ‘just because’, but she had no idea it would inspire her to pursue a new career. “I’ve always been interested in the medical field,” Johnson said. After hearing from one of the conference speakers, she’s now considering a career in medical tech. “I didn’t realize at first that plays a really big role in medicine,” Johnson said. “So I’m a little bit more interested in that and I hope that I can do this program again next year and explore further into it.”
Jefferson County Public Schools is working with a local technology education company, Tech-Nique, to teach students about the industry.
Program Director from Tech-Nique Angelica McClendon says the goal is to make jobs in the tech industry more achievable for women of color.
“There’s so many jobs left open due to the lack of education within the tech field, so hopefully we can bridge that gap between students that could be in those high lucrative jobs,” McClendon said.
The All That Tech conference was held at Roots 101 from June 6 to June 9. The program aimed at introducing girls of color to computer science careers. The students had the opportunity to work in many different sectors of computer science, including virtual reality, artificial intelligence, sonic-pi, video game design and more.
The conference tripled its attendance from last year, going from 40 participants in 2021 to 120 this year.
Program Director from Tech-Nique Angelica McClendon says the students were enthusiastic every day.
“Honestly, I’ve seen them be empowered. I see them come every day and they’re willing to try new things, and they’re willing to learn” McClendon said. “And it’s exciting! It’s empowering to see that something they might not of thought they could be in, they now see themselves in.”
Julieana Johnson, a junior at Brown High School, says she attended the conference ‘just because’, but she had no idea it would inspire her to pursue a new career.
“I’ve always been interested in the medical field,” Johnson said.
After hearing from one of the conference speakers, she’s now considering a career in medical tech. “I didn’t realize at first that [tech] plays a really big role in medicine,” Johnson said. “So I’m a little bit more interested in that and I hope that I can do this program again next year and explore further into it.”
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