In early October, The Hidden Genius Project hosted our second international Catalyst Program experience in London and for the first time in Johannesburg, South Africa. Over the course of this transformative experience, our team of 10 Hidden Genius Alumni Youth Educators exposed 736 students to tech career pathways with the support of program partners including Team Inc., Oakland Natives Give Back, Chelsea Football Club Foundation, LEAP Science and Maths Schools, Colorintech, West Ham United Foundation, and a host of collaborators.
“I’ve had an extraordinary experience that leaves me to imagine
traveling there again with all my brothers.”
Perry Irving, OAK4 Hidden Genius Alum
Friday, October 4, 2019
From The Town to London
Many thanks to United Airlines, the Official Aviation Partner of The Hidden Genius Project, O’Morris Adams, and United Team for creating such an empowering and welcoming experience at San Francisco International Airport for our Geniuses for the second year in a row!
For a majority of our students, this was their first trip out of the country and everyone at United made sure our flight to London was a great experience. This included direct support with terminal crew, an incredible departure reception at the gate with cupcakes, and the opportunity for our Geniuses to share the goal of our trip with fellow travelers.
Monday, October 7, 2019
Robert Clack School x West Ham FC Foundation
To kick off our international programming, The Hidden Genius Project and Team Inc. traveled to East London to partner with West Ham United Football Club Foundation to introduce our design thinking workshop at Robert Clack School. Our Hidden Genius Alumni Youth Educators invited 35+ young girls and boys to think critically about how to solve everyday issues they are facing by using technology.
“Being a part of the process to foster growth in kids our own age is very powerful.”
Devon Nutting, OAK3 Hidden Genius Alum
Thursday, October 10, 2019
Round 2 – #TechSlamUK
For the 2nd year running, The Hidden Genius Project, Team Inc., and Oakland Natives Give Back teamed up with Chelsea Football Club Foundation to inspire and educate young people through our innovative #TechSlamUK Catalyst Program. Brandon Nicholson, Ph.D., our Founding Executive Director, and Matt Mead, Head of Education and Innovation at Chelsea Football Club Foundation, kicked us off by leading an in-depth tech career panel discussion to 60 West London students.
Afterwards, our Hidden Genius Alumni Youth Educators took the reigns by introducing hands-on coding and robotics activities to the students, while Team Inc. got in on the action by exposing them to sports analytics software all through the power of STEM education! Proceeding lunch, all participants had the opportunity to experience our Community Expo powered by our collaborators, including Oakland Natives Give Back. This portion of the event caused tons of excitement as students immersed themselves in various experiences, received free swag, and participated in a fun raffle.
Friday, October 11, 2019
ColorCode
In back-to-back years, The Hidden Genius Project, Team Inc., and Oakland Natives Give Back supported Colorintech‘s ColorCode event as a program partner. Throughout the day, our Geniuses led inspiring technology-driven workshops to 250 students by hosting robot relays to programming Sphero’s Speed Drums, exposing them to skills they can pursue as potential career opportunities.
October 15 & 17, 2019
LEAP Science & Maths School Workshops
Throughout the week in South Africa, all three Oakland-based organizations had the opportunity to visit several LEAP Science and Maths Schools in Diepsloot, Alexandra and Ga-Rankuwa and connect with the students and instructors. These engaging visits consisted of tours led by the students, observation of class sessions to learn about their school structures and culture, and expose them to our design thinking workshops.
“I’ve learned a lot more than I taught throughout this entire trip.”
James Green, OAK4 Hidden Genius Alum
Wednesday, October 16, 2019
#TechSlamSouthAfrica
#TechSlamSouthAfrica was something truly special, as this was our first-ever youth-led Tech Slam panel featuring — Hidden Genius Alumni James Green (OAK4), Kevin Butler (OAK4), George Hofstetter (OAK3), Erin DeWitt of Oakland Natives Give Back, and Jason Brown of Team Inc. (Cohort 1) — who shared words of inspiration and hope to 104 students from Leap Science and Maths Schools in South Africa. Afterwards, all of the young students participated in various hands-on tech workshops featuring robot coding, sports analytics, and 2-D and 3-D product design led by Autodesk. The event ended on an exciting note as all of the students participated in a Community Expo championed by Oakland Natives Give Back and The Hidden Genius Project.
Special thanks to all of our generous sponsors and partners for helping to make this experience a reality.
