Next up for 'Earn & Learn' grads in Wyandanch: Tech jobs
Graduates of "Earn & Learn," a workshop on tech jobs taught for the first time this spring at Wyandanch High School, on Tuesday, as audience members applaud.
Credit: Newsday/Alejandra Villa Loarca
Mikalah Knight went to classes all day at Wyandanch Memorial High School this spring, and then stayed for hours more twice a week in a pilot program aimed at training young people for in-demand tech jobs.
Knight, 17, was among the first 18 students to graduate from a “Earn & Learn” program at the high school in a campus ceremony Tuesday.
Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone, on hand to mark the milestone, called the program a model he hopes to export to more communities. It started in Wyandanch in April.
“Wyandanch has set the model for what we need to be doing all across this county,” Bellone said. “This program is a model for how we can make a positive impact in our communities and a difference in the lives of these young people.”
The Earn & Learn program provides students with twice-weekly after-school workshops in the fields of data analysis, social media strategy, engineering test technology and structured cable technology.
They also get a $15-an-hour stipend.
The graduates were divided into three groups: high school juniors and seniors and others between 18- and 24-years-old.
Officials said smaller Earn & Learn workshops were held previously in Bay Shore, Brentwood and Bridgehampton, but Tuesday marked the end of the first sessions in a school.
The program is a partnership between Suffolk County, Soter Technologies of Ronkonkoma and nonprofits Springboard Incubators Inc. of Hempstead and the Urban League of Long Island in Plainview.
It was funded through $100,000 from the county and $760,000 in federal and state grants. Officials said they hope to get more grants and expand the number of students in Wyandanch in the fall, as well as bring Earn & Learn to other communities.
“I think it went fantastic. The students got to learn a lot," said Derek Peterson, CEO of Soter Technologies. "They actually got a chance to learn a skill set that makes them applicable for jobs right away.”
Steven Lindo, founder and CEO of the nonprofit, Springboard Incubators Inc., said he was “very proud of” the students.
"They all stuck it out. They came twice a week, Lindo said, "and listen, they are workforce ready. I guarantee it."
The program is “a morale booster," he added. "It goes from a can't-do attitude to a can-do attitude."
Some of the students will be offered jobs at companies and agencies that took part in the program, according to Lindo and Bellone.
Knight said she took the social media analysis training, which helped her learn how to build a company or a website.
“You’ll know what you are going into instead of going in there blind,” she said. “You have a clear vision.”
Reniyah Coleman, 20, said she had previously started her own YouTube channel, and took the social media class partly to see how she can improve it.
Before she started the channel, she was planning to study to become a veterinarian, but now she isn’t sure and may stay with the YouTube project.
“The program was very helpful,” she said. “I would recommend it to any high school student that wants to learn about tech programs.”
