STEM Success for Boston’s Latino Youth
Verizon Impact Forward Blog Series
As Hispanic Heritage Month kicks off, Verizon honors the historic and present-day contributions of Hispanic and Latino Americans. This summer, we brought together more than 100 community members to our Connected by Culture event at the Downtown Crossing retail store to spotlight Latinos in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Small businesses and community members networked and heard from a panel of influential leaders, including Santiago Garces, Chief Innovation Officer for the City of Boston and Carolina Lopez-Treviño, New Ventures Technical Lead at Toast, who shared their professional journeys and highlighted how inclusivity drives innovation.
Initiatives like Connected by Culture are one of the many ways in which Verizon invests in Boston’s Latino communities. We have learned firsthand from our local partners about the importance of ensuring everyone has access to digital literacy and career development. The Boston area is home to some of the top universities in the country, driving cutting edge research and jobs in biotech, robotics, and AI, demonstrating Boston’s leadership in tech innovation. A significant portion of Boston’s workforce identifies as Latino. Yet, due to persistent opportunity gaps, this group comprises a limited number of the city’s STEM roles.
That is why Verizon is committed to working with Latino-serving organizations to advance STEM education, digital inclusion, and youth empowerment. Across Boston and Massachusetts, our community partners are exposing youth to meaningful, hands-on activities that introduce them to computer science, coding and other areas of STEM in enjoyable ways. The power of these investments is exemplified by our partner, Sociedad Latina, who engages students in service projects where they analyze data to develop strategies to address real issues facing our communities.
“The Latino community is underrepresented in STEM so it is important to learn from the experiences of the many prominent Boston Latino Community STEM leaders who have broken through this barrier,” said Cathleen Finn Municipal and Community Engagement Director for Verizon. “It’s our pleasure to highlight the contributions of our community partners, particularly Latino STEM Alliance and Sociedad Latina, as they work to build a more inclusive STEM talent pipeline.”
Another Verizon partner, the Latino STEM Alliance (LSA), provides hands-on training, curriculum, equipment, and technical support to teachers and administrators at nearly 20 different schools throughout the Boston area, reaching 1,500 students annually. The organization’s highly successful Early Learning Program provides children as young as four with “Blue-Bot” robots, which teach STEM fundamentals that prepare students to learn coding basics. Early exposure to STEM, starting at infancy, has been shown to help youth understand their world, develop a growth mindset, and give them the confidence and problem-solving skills they need to overcome challenges. The Early Learning Program is LSA’s most in-demand program and currently has a waitlist. We’re proud that Verizon’s contributions helped expand programming and equipment for two additional classrooms for the 2024 school year.
“The Latino STEM Alliance is committed to inspiring and empowering underserved youth to pursue academic and career success in STEM fields by providing meaningful and engaging STEM learning opportunities,” said Karen Chacón, Executive Director of the Latino STEM Alliance. “Through our partnership with Verizon, we are able to reach more youth, particularly early education learners, engaging them in STEM programs from the start of their academic careers, to ultimately propel them into a STEM profession and diversify the STEM industry.”
Together with our community partners, we’re making strides toward a future where every student has the chance to explore, learn, and thrive in STEM.
We’re looking forward to continuing our engagement throughout Hispanic Heritage Month by hosting events for our partners, see more information below.
On October 4 United Latinas is bringing together their members at Verizon’s Boston Hub for a day of professional development highlighted by a business showcase featuring a Latina authors corner.
On October 23 Association of Latino Professionals For America (ALPFA) and Verizon are hosting a Boston Tech Luncheon featuring a panel of technical leaders and a tour of the Verizon Innovation Center.
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(Watch the recap video of our June 25, 2024, Connected by Culture event at the link.)
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Verizon Impact Forward is our ongoing series highlighting Verizon’s local approach to corporate social responsibility, including the community-based partnerships that make this work possible.