Verizon and North Carolina A&T Select 400 At-Risk Students to Explore STEM
Fields
Wendy Huston
University professors to coach African-American middle school boys through
hands-on learning; students will develop technology solutions over the course of
the two-year program that better their communities.
GREENSBORO, N.C.— Through a pioneering mentorship program developed by Verizon,
400 at-risk middle school boys in Greensboro are working with top, local
innovators to develop high-level technology skills that will lead to a brighter
future in the classroom and beyond.
The Minority Male Makers Program is a two-year program that gives
African-American middle school students hands-on technology experience in a
range of STEM disciplines: mobile app design, coding, computer programming,
robotics, and 3D printing. Professors at North Carolina Agricultural and
Technical State University will instruct the students during intensive, all-day
classes on campus.
The wireless carrier saw a troubling trend: African American males account for
just five percent of college students. Additionally, African American men are
more likely than any other ethnic group in the U.S. to not complete high school
on time [1], become unemployed [2], or incarcerated [3].
Verizon developed the Minority Male Makers program to help provide a solution by
investing in the futures of African American men as early as middle school. The
program seeks to inspire students to explore the types of high-demand STEM
fields that will enable them to make technology concepts a reality.
The intensive two-year program is using technology to foster skills and
attitudes in these boys – including curiosity, critical thinking, creative
problem solving, and confidence – that will help them throughout their lives.
The summer portion of the program will last four weeks with all-day workshops;
during the 2015-2016 school year students will participate in check-in sessions
for ongoing mentoring and academic support.
“Through the Minority Male Makers program, Verizon wants to see a new generation
gain a passion for science and technology related fields, and as a leading
technology company, we are in a unique position to demonstrate to students the
types of impacts technology can have on the world around us,” said Jerry
Fountain, Verizon Wireless President for the Carolinas and Tennessee.
When Verizon set out to develop the Minority Male Makers program, A&T was one of
four historically black colleges and universities across the country selected by
the company to help develop and carry out the program. The other colleges
include Jackson State University in Mississippi, Morgan State University in
Maryland and Kentucky State University in Frankfort.
“The Minority Male Makers program offers the 400 student participants from
Greensboro a level of access to technology, mentors and N.C. A&T that they have
never had,” said Dr. Ben Obinero Uwakweh, dean of A&T’s School of Technology.
“This summer, they have been working with team leaders and mentors who happen to
be alumni of our School of Education and learning from professors from the
School of Technology. It is our hope that the students’ experience with Minority
Male Makers will pique their interests in not only technology but other
STEM-related disciplines as well.”