When Heven Ambachew was unsure how she could integrate technology with her other interests, she found direction through Geeking Out Kids of Color (GOKiC). Three years later, the high school graduate is doing her own teaching for the nonprofit.
Ambachew, of SeaTac, Wash., is an 18-year-old graduate of Mount Rainier High School. In the spring she completed her associate degree in computer science through the Running Start program at Highline College. This fall she’ll be attending Pacific Lutheran University on a full Act Six scholarship.
Ambachew is GeekWire’s Junior Geek of the Month for July, a monthly honor presented by Northern Trust, which recognizes talented young innovators, creators and entrepreneurs in the Pacific Northwest.
“It’s kind of been interesting and amazing at the same time,” Ambachew said about her first foray into teaching elementary school kids. “I’m running a class with a little less help than usual.”
Ambachew and other instructors created a game on Roblox and they’re holding classes virtually during the ongoing pandemic. Their game is used to spotlight women of color who have been influential in society. It’s a path Ambachew appears to be headed down herself.
“Growing up, I never had anyone in my family or anyone within my circle that was in the tech field,” said Ambachew, who immigrated to the U.S. from Ethiopia when she was 10. “Even though I thought tech was a cool field to be in I’d never seen that happen in real life.”
Heven Ambachew will be studying computer science at Pacific Lutheran University. (Photo courtesy of Heven Ambachew)
That changed when she met Pedro Perez, executive director and co-founder of GOKiC, whose mission is to empower kids of color, especially girls, with an education in computer science, programming and robotics through an anti-sexist and anti-racist lens.
GOKiC’s work is especially vital during the coronavirus pandemic, in which it’s had to shift much of its curricula to a virtual format and address the challenges that kids of color have when it comes to access to computer tech, the internet, and the skill sets required to navigate both.
“Never before have we seen the disparity of this access laid bare as through the litmus test forced upon everyone by the pandemic,” Perez said.
When Heven Ambachew was unsure how she could integrate technology with her other interests, she found direction through Geeking Out Kids of Color (GOKiC). Three years later, the high school graduate is doing her own teaching for the nonprofit.
Ambachew, of SeaTac, Wash., is an 18-year-old graduate of Mount Rainier High School. In the spring she completed her associate degree in computer science through the Running Start program at Highline College. This fall she’ll be attending Pacific Lutheran University on a full Act Six scholarship.
Ambachew is GeekWire’s Junior Geek of the Month for July, a monthly honor presented by Northern Trust, which recognizes talented young innovators, creators and entrepreneurs in the Pacific Northwest.
“It’s kind of been interesting and amazing at the same time,” Ambachew said about her first foray into teaching elementary school kids. “I’m running a class with a little less help than usual.”
Ambachew and other instructors created a game on Roblox and they’re holding classes virtually during the ongoing pandemic. Their game is used to spotlight women of color who have been influential in society. It’s a path Ambachew appears to be headed down herself.
“Growing up, I never had anyone in my family or anyone within my circle that was in the tech field,” said Ambachew, who immigrated to the U.S. from Ethiopia when she was 10. “Even though I thought tech was a cool field to be in I’d never seen that happen in real life.”
Heven Ambachew will be studying computer science at Pacific Lutheran University. (Photo courtesy of Heven Ambachew)
That changed when she met Pedro Perez, executive director and co-founder of GOKiC, whose mission is to empower kids of color, especially girls, with an education in computer science, programming and robotics through an anti-sexist and anti-racist lens.
GOKiC’s work is especially vital during the coronavirus pandemic, in which it’s had to shift much of its curricula to a virtual format and address the challenges that kids of color have when it comes to access to computer tech, the internet, and the skill sets required to navigate both.
“Never before have we seen the disparity of this access laid bare as through the litmus test forced upon everyone by the pandemic,” Perez said.
Polyarc co-founders, from left to right: Tam Armstrong, Danny Bulla, and Chris Alderson. (Polyarc Photo)
When Heven Ambachew was unsure how she could integrate technology with her other interests, she found direction through Geeking Out Kids of Color (GOKiC). Three years later, the high school graduate is doing her own teaching for the nonprofit.
Heven Ambachew will be studying computer science at Pacific Lutheran University. (Photo courtesy of Heven Ambachew)
When Heven Ambachew was unsure how she could integrate technology with her other interests, she found direction through Geeking Out Kids of Color (GOKiC). Three years later, the high school graduate is doing her own teaching for the nonprofit.
Heven Ambachew will be studying computer science at Pacific Lutheran University. (Photo courtesy of Heven Ambachew)
Polyarc co-founders, from left to right: Tam Armstrong, Danny Bulla, and Chris Alderson. (Polyarc Photo)