Prepared To Standout In Tech
K'nori, a young man from Knoxville, TN participated in the National Urban League's Project Ready program in 2016. In his Individual College Development Plan, he indicated he was interested in Computer Science. Black workers make up just 7% of the computing workforce as a whole. The exact percentage of Black coders is difficult to calculate, but Facebook reported that Black workers accounted for just 1% of its engineers and coders. In 2021, K’nori graduated with a degree in Computer Science from Rhodes College in Memphis Find the full interview here. Below are some gems:
“The most important thing the Urban League program gave us were honest truths about what it looks like to be a Black in a Predominately White Institution.”
“My professors and peers looked down on me; they were like you are not going to make it. I thought it was because of Black stereotypes like why are you here? They were trying to get under my skin. I did well at first, but professors told me that as I kept progressing, my grades might drop, and I should switch. By the end of the major students were coming to me for help. I was one of 3 Black students in computer science out of 64. We all graduated.”
“I had one female black professor my freshman year, but that was it. I think it is important to have concepts explained to you from other perspectives. My professors didn’t know how to support us. The way I teach it to myself Computer Science is completely different from how it is taught in the classroom. It is taught to us in this standardized way. Professors don’t how to teach CS to Black people, to Hispanic people, to Asian people.”
ResultK'nori now works in Service Sales at Dell. He supports businesses by setting up their computer support and insurance for their devices. He says the role is a stepping stone for him and plans to study User Experience also known as UX Engineering next.