It was a great time for us at the Queens Tech Fair. The turnout was great, there were brief keynotes by representatives from Microsoft and Google for Startups (amongst others) and our mentorship station was very busy. We had high schoolers (and parents) seeking guidance, recent college grads trying to break into tech jobs, and at least one person interested in a PhD. For people whose specific needs we could not speak to, we offered to connect them with Cornell Tech students or other people in tech that could better advise.

We also talked to organizers and missionaries who, though not in tech, want to be aware of available opportunities to share with the communities they serve. One of them, Faye Cook of the Brookfield Civic Association, had really nice things to say about Cornell. She said she knew our campus, and that through her org, she had experienced Cornell/ Cornell alumni’s positive impact in New York. In particular, she mentioned the Cornell University Cooperative Extension.

All in all, it was a wonderful day out, and we left the leftover flyers and swag with representatives from the Greater Jamaica Development Corporation, to share with young people who come to the Greater Nexus coworking space.

After our experience today, we believe It would be great for Cornell Tech to grow this relationship with the Queens Borough to promote tech diversity, and keep them in the loop about our initiatives, particularly the K-12 & Break Through Tech, so they can share this information with the community so that more kids can participate.

Group photo of today’s squad – Black Cornell Tech Student Association “BCTSA” members, BCTSA advisor Dr Angelique Taylor, BCTSA alum- Tiffany Onyemaobi (LLM ’22)  & Isaiah Murray (UT ’22) with Ebony Young (Deputy Queens Borough President) and Jonathan Imperial (Assistant to the Deputy Borough President).