As I prepared to write my very first BLOG entry, I got some last minute advice from my teenage son, “Mom, just K.I.S.S AND get to the point. Blog readers don’t want to read a lot of details. They get it!” Hmm, so there goes my Ernest Hemingway moment.

So, what inspires me about the Intel Computer Clubhouse community?

As the Intel Computer Clubhouse Program Manager, I have the unique advantage of observing inspirational moments and the impact the Clubhouse has on teens on an ongoing basis. One event that comes to mind is the Intel Computer Clubhouse Teen Summit that was held last August on the North Eastern University campus in Boston, MA. I spent four spectacular days with 300 ‘pumped up’ teens from 20 countries. Below are some inspiring moments from this event that I captured in my journal:

• Young people working together to create and produce short video-vignettes about the ails of society and how we can solve them
• Clubhouse members expressing genuine curiosity about how things worked AND where they thought they could make improvements
• A group of innovative and enthusiastic clubhouse members designing a future clubhouse equipped with the latest technology, like a hologram that would allow distant clubhouses to communicate with each other. Beam me up, Scottie!
• The ability of these Clubhouse members to look beyond race, creed, religious, cultural differences and language to work together on projects. I was touched to see teens from counties traditionally in conflict with one another who were eating, playing and working together - and some lasting friendships were formed
• Many teens at the Clubhouse Teen Summit expressing strong interest in applying to college, following our announcement of a renewed commitment to “Clubhouse to College” scholarship fund

And of course, it is hard not to be inspired by the Clubhouse managers and coordinators who make the clubhouse a “home’ to over 25,000 youth around the world. It is a salient reminder of the importance of giving back to our communities. People really do make the world go round.
My role allows me to witness firsthand the impact Intel has on thousands of lives in underserved communities. It is amazing!

I am truly honored to be a part of a company, an organization and a team that believes and values education and provides access to technology around the world. If that’s not inspirational, what is? So, tell me what inspires you?

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 25th, 2008 at 7:41 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.