Boys & Girls Clubs of America recently
recognized winners of the National Club Tech Digital Arts Festivals
with a fun and educational trip to Seattle. After
winning contests on the local and regional levels, 21
tech-savvy Club kids were awarded the trip for their
work in graphic design, Web design,
music making, photo illustration and
movie making.
The winners, ranging in age from
10 to 17, received firsthand experience
in many diverse career
opportunities through behind-the-scenes
tours at Best Buy and Microsoft.
Employees from both companies
shared career choices and personal experiences
with the winners, opening their
worlds to a vast landscape of technology careers.
“My biggest highlights were the tours and background
of Microsoft’s ‘House of the Future,’ and the Surface
Table, which is a high-tech coffee table controlled
by touch,” says Aron Byerly, 16, of a Boys & Girls
Club in Oklahoma. “We also met some inventors and
so many other interesting people.”
|
  
|
To win the competition
and participate in this rich
experience, young people were required to create
digital artwork incorporating skills developed through
Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s Club Tech program,
funded by Microsoft and Best Buy Children’s Foundation.
The program is designed to equip youth with
essential digital literacy skills. Members can gain
basic and advanced tech skills, from word
processing to computer refurbishing,
and are encouraged to apply
their knowledge through Digital
Arts Festivals.
By encouraging young people
to employ creativity and develop
tech skills through the Digital Arts
Festivals, the Club Tech program
seeks to bridge the digital divide for
those without access to technology. Acquiring
Club Tech skills not only helps members navigate
Web and computer programs, it enables them
to better navigate life.
Ivylize Valdillez, a 15-year-old member of Boys &
Girls Clubs of Tucson, Ariz., knows the skills she learned will
help her with everything she dreams of being, from
fashion designer to movie producer. “I like to create
things on the computer,” she says. “But I don’t
just
want to do one job; I want to do a whole bunch.” |
  
|
| back to top |
|
