SAN JOSE, Calif., May 2, 2015
/PRNewswire/ -- Today more than 200 local teens joined forces at United
Way Silicon Valley's GradNation Youth Summit to envision what a career
in high tech might look like and ways to make that vision a reality.
Held at East San Jose's
Independence High School, the summit is part of a nationwide effort by
America's Promise Alliance to ensure that young people graduate from
high school prepared for success. AT&T is the premier sponsor of the
national Grad Nation Community Summits campaign and participated in the
local event.
"We
want to make sure all kids, including those in families with no college
experience or who are struggling to make ends meet, can see a place for
themselves in the knowledge-based workforce that exists in Silicon
Valley today," said Carole Leigh Hutton,
president and CEO of United Way Silicon Valley. "Spending time with
mentors and actually talking about coding or becoming an entrepreneur
can motivate and inspire students to pursue a STEM-based education."
The summit was held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and included an inspiring keynote address by Jaime Carias,
who talked about overcoming adversity to achieve success. Carias was
born and raised in South Central Los Angeles, where he saw poverty and
violence firsthand. Now the Civic Engagement Coordinator for the University of Southern California
Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism, he motivates and
shares his evidence-based strategies with students to improve their
academic performance, graduate, and pursue higher education.
Five workshops were offered throughout the day, including:
- How to Become a Social Entrepreneur presented by Youth Seed and Empathy
- Designing Your Own School presented by Teach for America
- Basics of Coding presented by Girls Who Code
- The Fun and Power of Data: A New Way to Discover and Invent presented by AT&T
- App Development in the World of Startups presented by United Way Silicon Valley's Emerging Leaders United
"We
know that graduation rates go up when students are enrolled in programs
that expose them to college and career opportunities – and how better
to do that in Silicon Valley than to expose them to different
opportunities in STEM and tech fields," said Marc Blakeman,
Vice President of External Affairs for AT&T California. "We have
AT&T data scientists here today giving students a very hands-on
introduction to big data. We're thrilled to provide that kind of window
into a possible career path and help get kids excited about going into
STEM fields."
The
summit is one of 100 that will be held around the country through 2016.
The summits are co-sponsored by America's Promise Alliance as part of
its GradNation campaign, a large and growing movement of dedicated
individuals, organizations and communities working together to raise the
national high school graduation rate to 90 percent by 2020, with no
school graduating fewer than 80 percent of its students on time.
"The
progress we are seeing toward the national goal of raising graduation
rates is based on communities coming together to support and insist on
better outcomes for young people," said John Gomperts, president and CEO, America's Promise Alliance. "Summits like the event in San Jose are rallying points for communities. America's Promise is delighted to support this effort and work with leaders in San Jose and communities across the country to help advance this campaign."
The
premier sponsor of the national GradNation Community Summits initiative
is AT&T, whose support is part of AT&T Aspire, the company's $350-million
commitment to graduate more students from high school ready for college
and career. The other national sponsors include Southwest Airlines and
GE Foundation.
For more information and to learn how to get involved visit www.gradnation.org.
About America's Promise Alliance
Founded in 1997 at the Presidents' Summit for America's Future, America's Promise leads
an alliance of organizations, communities and individuals dedicated to
fulfilling the presidential declaration signed on that day calling upon
the nation to keep five crucial promises to every young person in
America: the presence of caring adults in their lives; safe surroundings
to live, learn and grown; healthy starts and healthy childhoods; an
effective education that builds marketable skills; and opportunities to
serve others. As its signature effort, the GradNation campaign,
launched in 2010, mobilizes Americans to increase the on-time
high school graduation rate to 90% by 2020 and prepare young people for
postsecondary enrollment and the 21st century workforce. For more information, visit AmericasPromise.org.
About United Way Silicon Valley
United
Way Silicon Valley is committed to improving community conditions by
helping families with children become economically secure, able to
support their children's educational success, physically and emotionally
healthy, and connected to the community. To drive positive change,
United Way Silicon Valley helps people help themselves by identifying
critical needs, mobilizing the caring power of the community, and
aligning resources to achieve the best results. United Way is focused on
the building blocks for a good life: income, education, and health. For
more information about United Way Silicon Valley, visit www.uwsv.org.
About Philanthropy & Social Innovation at AT&T
AT&T
Inc. is committed to advancing education, strengthening communities and
improving lives. Through its community initiatives, AT&T has a long
history of investing in projects that create learning opportunities;
promote academic and economic achievement; or address community needs.
In 2013, more than $130 million was
contributed or directed through corporate-, employee-, social
investment- and AT&T Foundation-giving programs. AT&T Aspire is
AT&T's signature education initiative that drives innovation in
education by bringing diverse resources to bear on the issue including
funding, technology, employee volunteerism, and mentoring.
SOURCE AT&T Inc.
0 comments:
Post a Comment