In February, HHF’s national initiative, Code as a Second Language (CSL) hosted a Latinos on Fast Track (LOFT) Coder Summit sponsored by the U.S. Army in Miami, FL at Florida International University!
“We were thrilled to partner with the U.S. Army to identify, prepare and connect Latino programmers to move the tech industry and America’s workforce forward,” said Jose Antonio Tijerino, President and CEO of the Hispanic Heritage Foundation. “We are at the intersection of a nation in need of tech workers and talent-rich Latino community and we look to redefining the landscape of computer technology while building a stronger community of innovators.”
Workshops at the LOFT Coder Summit were led by Juan Narvaez, Area Business Leader Co-Op, GE Appliances, Krista Shuckerow, Engineering Resident, Google and Chief Warrant Officer 4 Raul Negron Jr., U.S. Army Cyber Command. Speakers in our Hacking a Career in Technology panel included Chief Warrant Officer 4 Raul Negron Jr., Juan Narvaez, Krista Shuckerow and Alberto Avalos, Innovation and Technology Manager at HHF.
Within the CSL initiative, there are CSL Bootcamps, Academies and Latinos on Fast Track (LOFT) Coder Summits. In February, CSL hosted the final CSL Academy sponsored by GM at Tempe High School in Tempe, Arizona. Students who participated in the Academy were introduced to computer science, led by our CSL Fellow, Noel Serrato.
CSL Academies consist of a 8-10 week program that meets once a week for 1-1.5 hours designed to immerse students in the fundamentals of computer science/ entrepreneurship, programming and syntax. CSL introduces youth to computer science and makes technical training and careers accessible to women and other minorities. CSL is committed to providing a technically skilled and diverse pool of talent to meet the demands of today’s growing technology companies. The model fosters a network of Latino software engineers and Latino leaders.
“Computer science can help youth build the skills necessary for success in school, workforce and in life,” said Antonio Tijerino, President and CEO of HHF. “Beyond preparing Latino youth for jobs in the tech industry, which America desperately needs, we also want to promote creativity, innovative thinking, problem-solving, and how to work with others to solve issues.”
HHF is committed to providing students with resources to technology and our vision is possible by allowing students to stay connected with year-round access to the LOFT Innovation leadership and workforce development programs including STEM Symposia, Innovation fellowships, Youth Awards, mentoring and other work-based learning opportunities.
Learn more about Code as a Second Language (CSL) here.
