It’s Thanksgiving week! Daylight is waning, finals are coming, and Tía Clicha is nearing. Ah yes, 2017 is just beyond la frontera. In what has been a huge year in tech, this is the time we reflect and give thanks for the positive things in the past year. This digital native is no different. I have a lot to be thankful for this past year: Pokemon Go, Harambe memes, and non-explosive phones. Yet, the thing that I’m thankful for most this year has been the wonderful outreach opportunity with Google's igniteCS program.
The ides of March were upon us and our student organization had received the news we had been waiting for: Google selected us to take part in their igniteCS mentorship program. Our hearts were overjoyed.
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—Okay, pause—
You may be asking yourself “Why does this matter?” And the answer depends on who you ask. At UTEP, we're are a commuter school, located in the Paso del Norte region, literally sitting a stone's throw away from Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. Our economy isn’t bustling. Los Juaenses, whether legal or not, are family to those of us on this side of el puente. But we’re rich in spirit and cultural identity. Living here, you understand the value of giving back to the community that raised you better than the billionaire-buffoon who marvels at the size of his hands.
—Alas, I digress—
The igniteCS mentorship program, which is funded by Google, challenges collegiate students to make a positive difference in young students' lives by mentoring them in the field of Computer Science. This was a dream come true for two reasons: It not only allotted us the resources to give back to the community, but served as a reminder for both us and our (then) future mentees that we’re not a forgotten people, that a company a team of people out in the world looked out at the Paso del Norte region and said “we’re going to help.”
Hosting mentorship sessions with our students on a near-weekly basis has been extraordinary, in every sense of the world. We began as a team of four CS majors, four ordinary people, who wanted to do extra-ordinary things. Although they’re only 6-to-9 years younger than us, they’re teaching us so much about their generation, their willingness to learn, and change the world. Today, a team a family of nine collegiate students, we continue mentoring these middle-school younglings, educating them on the importance of diversity, ethics, inclusion, problem-solving, and of course, coding. And they mentor us, teaching us how to become better “budding professionals.”
As an igniteCS Student Leader, I’ve seen each member of our team prosper in a unique way, gaining valuable hands-on skills that can come in handy down the road. Personally, I’m humbled by the experience this program has given me— the “ah-ha” moments from a mentee when they finally grasp a concept, the friendships, the laughter, and the memories.
And one day, when I read about one of our mentees discovering the solution to cyber-security in the post-quantum computing world, I’ll look back and these days and smile, thankful I had the opportunity to guide them through a small part of their adventerous journey.
