Youth Programs are Back at BCLS

This blog post was written by a guest contributer, Dayanara Almon:

“Hello! My name is Dayanara, I am 17 years old, and I am a rising senior at The Northwest School. This summer (of 2022) I was a summer intern at TAF through the Bank of America Student Leaders Program! During my internship I supported the Operations and Development teams. Writing this piece has been a exciting opportunity for me to connect my passion for writing (journalism) with my work at TAF.”

For students and educators working with TAF the learning doesn’t stop during the summer break. Some examples of this summer programming include Jumpstart TAF@Saghalie and the STEMbyTAF Summer Institute for network teachers. Beyond these programs TAF partners with programs such as the King County Parks Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) and Geeking Out Kids of Color (GOKiC) throughout the summer of 2022. TAF provides space for these programs at the Bethaday Community Learning Space (TAF Headquarters) otherwise known as BCLS.

Geeking Out Kids of Color, otherwise known as GOKiC, provides educational programs and resources with goals to “close the digital literacy gap” for youth of color. GOKiC is a computer science, tech focused program built on the values of intersectionality, education, equity, and making technology more accessible in learning. GOKiC provides summer programs and after school programs all around the Seattle area. Throughout Washington state, GOKiC offers various virtual programs for students of color. One of these programs is right here at the TAF Headquarters (BCLS), this summer GOKiC is working with about 15 elementary and middle school aged students. This summer the GOKiC STEM program is focused on prototypes and the use of modern technology in STEM. The students recently worked on an egg drop project, where they designed and built their own egg cases using 3D printing tech. Next, they’ll be working on launching rockets! Programs like GOKiC are so important because they provide a place and platform for people of color to thrive.

The YCC Intern Experience

Each summer 10 high school students participate in the King County Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) a 7-week summer internship program that celebrates student diversity. This internship provides students the opportunity to learn about climate/environmental justice in their communities and around the world. Throughout the summer, interns participate in various workshops, engage and lead discussions, and seek environmental solutions. Interns are connected to other opportunities beyond the YCC where new learnings and skills (such as networking, public speaking, writing, etc.) can be further deepened.

Here is what the interns had to say about their time at TAF headquarters for this program:

What is your favorite part of the YCC? Why did you apply?

“Other than meeting everyone, the workshops are really fun because you get to learn a lot about different career paths, personally I am looking to learn more about career paths in this sort of field...I thought it would be a good opportunity to experience different career paths educationally and hands on...it’s really fun to do hands on work.”

“I love to see the way that we can work with our natural world to create art and I think a lot of this is a good way to tie into art and activism. Which is something I’m really interested in, which is also kind of why I applied to the internship. I also experienced a similar internship like this in high school and also had some experience working with other environmental programs... just the way that it impacted me was really huge and I wanted to be able to pass that on in more of a mentor role in a way.”

What is your favorite project or activity that you worked on?

“I think one of my favorite projects or what we like to call them our workshops would be heading to Federal Way and getting to know the beach and getting to sample some things from storm drains heading to the beach. So, it was fun how we collected the data and how we analyzed it so then we can see the bacteria formed in those colonies and one of the bacteria we were trying to look for was E. coli.”

“I think a favorite project or activity I've worked on was honestly Mindy’s activity where we learned how to propagate pothos plants and like the benefits of propagating those pothos plants and then we painted plant pots and then brought home the pothos to propagate themselves.”

What is something important you have learned?

“There was this workshop where we went to the beach and we were learning about how much dog poop there was in the area and how that was affecting the air quality and we had this app where we would take picture of the poop and upload it to the app (the pooper snooper) it was a fun app, it was important that we learned how much bacteria there was in the water.”

“I think just how disproportionately the climate can affect people in Seattle, and greater King County. There are a lot of things about shade in parks, more industrial areas, and areas with a lot more parks. It's really shocking to see how much difference there is just in a few miles.”

What impact has this internship had on you so far?

“It’s definitely been a really good experience learning from everyone and seeing everyone's background and where they come from and what they know about certain things and then applying that to the knowledge that I already have and so it's been a really good space that we’ve worked at for six weeks now and I'm really glad I joined.”

“This internship really made me see how many things are happening all around just to keep us safe and with our health because you know there's the big options like climate change and water quality and all that. But you don’t know the little things, like the small lakes, how they’re being affected, or the little communities that are being affected.”

What do you think this program is important?

“The neighborhood I live in it was would be considered a brown level, meaning there is air pollution, fireworks smoke, sound pollution, garbage, oil, unsafe tools... I think a lot of them don’t do it purposely they just don’t have the resources to do it, I think if they are given the knowledge and the resources then they can succeed”

“I think for me personally when I first applied, I was really interested in having an opportunity to get out into the field and work outside, getting to learn more about the environment because I didn’t really know that much before getting into this. On a broader standpoint, for my community, it’s a lot better to have more youth specifically more youth of color to have this opportunity since we are mostly underrepresented in the environmental field, so it is a really good opportunity for people to learn more about those careers and you know have a chance to diversify our communities.”

“Well personally I feel that I am really lucky to be able to have a job in the environment and in this internship because I know a lot of my other friends my age, their first jobs were working in restaurants or part-time at auto shops or retail. So, I am really lucky to have a job where I can get a lot of experience in the environmental field and dip my toes into science by collecting data and stuff, I am really lucky to have that chance.

It has been the first time the Technology Access Foundation has had student programming in the BCLS building in over 2 years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With students back in the halls the building is so alive and vibrant. This is just one reason why having 2 programs back in the building has been exciting for these programs and for staff at BCLS! Through partnering with these programs TAF continues to not only uplift youth in their learning but also support other organizations in doing the same through their work. It is a powerful thing to see these organizations come together for one common goal and lifting each other as they climb. This inspires and empowers young people to create more opportunities for themselves and their communities.