Nearly 40 high school students and their families will attend the inaugural CLAIMiT workshop at the College of Technology Nov. 17.
CLAIMiT stands for Communicating Leadership and Advancing Innovation for Minorities in Technology. The experience, aimed at underrepresented minorities enrolled in Project Lead the Way high school classes, is based on a similar successful experience the college offers for high school women.
“This is an opportunity for our students to share their love for the college and demonstrate leadership skills as they host these students and their parents,” said Toni Munguia, director of the college’s diversity programs. “It also gives the high school students an opportunity to see firsthand how they can fit in at the College of Technology and what it takes to be admitted and successful.”
CLAIMiT exposes participants to a broad range of careers and activities related to the majors offered within the College of Technology. They will learn the basics of Scratch, a computer programming tool, and key frame animation as part of their computer graphics technology session.
They’ll also build windmills, learn leadership skills, explore electronics in computerized toys, and program a robot while learning about the engineering technologies that make it possible.
Parents will be included during the day, as well. They will be able to perform similar activities as their students, and they’ll learn about the variety of careers that are typical for Technology graduates.
“We know that students rely on their parents’ opinions, so we have a track for parents to provide more information about what their students will experience in the College of Technology,” said Harold Baker, recruitment and retention coordinator for the college. “We want the parents to see Technology as a great and viable option for their students.”
The workshop is sponsored by the College of Technology’s Office of Diversity.