AT&T* announced it will connect more than 1,000 high-school students nationwide through the 12th annual National High Technology Day, to expose them to careers in fields where minorities are underrepresented--Hispanics in particular. The goal of National High Technology Day hosted every year by AT&T’s Hispanic/Latino Association, HACEMOS, is to give minority students a feel for the opportunities in the science, technology, mathematics and engineering fields.
According to the National Science Foundation, in 2007 Hispanics accounted for less than seven percent of all bachelor’s degrees awarded in engineering, while all minorities combined received 25 percent. With Hispanics now being the country’s largest minority, this issue has significant long-term implications in terms of work-force readiness and the nation’s ability to compete in the global economy. As a major U.S. corporation, AT&T is concerned about this trend and supports employee initiatives, such as National High Technology Day, aimed to reverse it.
“National High Technology Day allows us to open the eyes of young adults and, hopefully, inspire them into joining a high-growth field in technology, where they can create a great future for themselves,” said Richard Macias, national president of HACEMOS, the Hispanic/Latino Association of AT&T.
The National High Technology Day initiative allows low-income and at-risk minority students to experience a “day in the life” of HACEMOS professionals, tour AT&T facilities, and participate in hands-on activities and interactive workshops related to careers in technology.
This year's event is in conjunction with the AT&T/JA Worldwide Job Shadow Initiative, which provides job shadow opportunities to at-risk students through the AT&T Aspire initiative, a $100 million initiative to help reduce the high school drop-out rate. By providing students a chance to join employees on the job and learn about career opportunities, AT&T and Junior Achievement are combating the alarming drop-out rate in our schools, and are helping students to make the connection between what they learn in school, and how it applies to future life success. AT&T and Junior Achievement are committed to providing 100,000 high school students with the opportunity to shadow AT&T employees during the five-year initiative. Since the program’s inception in 2008, it has reached more than 23,000 students in 200 cities.
National High Technology Day 2010 culminates with a video conference that links participating students in 18 locations nationwide. This year, Irma Vega, executive director of Sales Operations for AT&T, will serve as keynote speaker for the video conference. Irma has a passion for investing in developing personal and professional leadership skills for both private and corporate leaders. As a member of HACEMOS, Irma has the privilege of mentoring individuals as well as leading mentoring circles.
This year’s event will link more than 1,000 high school students from 18 high schools in:
* Anaheim, CA
* Atlanta, GA
* Austin, TX
* Chicago, IL
* Dallas, TX
* Florham Park, NJ
* Fort Worth, TX
* Fresno, CA
* Houston, TX
* Miami, FL
* Middletown, NJ
* Mission, KS
* Norman, OK.
* Sacramento, CA.
* San Antonio**, TX
* San Diego, CA
* San Ramón Valley, CA.
* St. Louis, MO
HACEMOS is a key component of AT&T’s philanthropic efforts and builds on the company’s commitment to the Hispanic community through fundraising and by providing scholarships to Hispanic college students. The organization, which is close to 1,000 members strong, recognizes the importance of educating Hispanic youth and preparing them for a technology-intensive future. HACEMOS members are committed to developing and supporting technology education projects in communities where they live and work. For more information, please visit HACEMOS.
*AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.
** No Junior Achievement job-shadow program at this location.
About JA Worldwide® (Junior Achievement)
JA Worldwide is the world's largest organization dedicated to inspiring and preparing young people to succeed in a global economy. Through a dedicated volunteer network, JA Worldwide provides in-school and after-school programs for students which focus on three key content areas: entrepreneurship, work readiness, and financial literacy. Today, 128 individual area operations reach more than four million students in the United States, with an additional 4.3 million students served by operations in 123 other countries worldwide. For more information, visit www.ja.org.
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