Slow Black Girl: TEC Leimert

“I work in comedy, journalism, media, and technology, and many of which don’t have a lot of black faces in visible positions. I walk through Brooklyn with a surfboard. It’s fun to challenge and expand people’s expectations.”

-Baratunde Thurston

I never thought that there would be a place for someone like me in STEM (Science, technology, engineering, and math)…

This was for plenty of reasons. For one, I am sure that I have a learning disability that makes math and science difficult for me to process. I was never diagnosed with one, but I do have ADHD (Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder) and the two are often paired. Subsequently, I was never confident in my ability to do STEM related activities. Because I was far behind my peers in these subjects, I would shy away from participating in labs and math competitions. I felt that it would be easier to seem as if I didn’t want to join my classmates while they were having fun being in rivalry with one another than to be embarrassed because I didn’t understand. I also didn’t want to be in anyone’s way. Lastly, to be fair, I had never been interested in STEM. I enjoyed reading and writing because I have always been exceptional in these areas. Since I was in elementary school I have been winning spelling bees or an essay contest. And I would beg my mother to let me stay up twenty minutes later than my bed time to read a few more pages of whatever book I was obsessed with at the time. Ultimately, I thought it would make sense to focus more on my strengths than to develop an interest in technology because it would require a lot of work. Work that I didn’t believe I was capable of accomplishing.

With all of this being true, I almost passed on the opportunity to attend TEC Leimert’s “Black to the Future” event for free. I attend California State University-Long Beach and the non-profit granted tickets to their conference to Black college students in Southern California. I didn’t think that I deserved to be there because I was insecure about everything that I lacked in. I thought for sure that I would be taking a more fitting person’s spot if I went. But I decided to take another look at the information presented on the flyer. When I read through it again I realized that my fear stemmed from seeing “tech” in the title of the email that I received. My intimidation caused me to overlook the services that TEC Leimert offers. I was pleased to read that they assist those interested in film/entertainment, fashion, gaming, etc. with finding internships and connecting with Black people that have expertise in those fields. Upon doing research, I learned that they work to broaden the field of technology so that it is inclusive to all Black youth that are interested. This is very important considering that many people have interests that may involve using technology but share the same insecurities as I do when having to engage with it. During this time I had peaked an interest in film and screen writing. I knew that going to the conference would be a great opportunity to learn about the essence of film and how I could become more involved in the field. At this point I was beyond excited. After understanding that I would not have to cram thousands of rocket science material into my hippocampus in order to work with them, I reached out to Janelle Bechdol of TEC Leimert. She was very kind so I felt comfortable telling her that I was interested in attending the conference but I was having issues with transportation. Without knowing me personally, she immediately provided me with the resources that I needed to ensure that I would be able to attend. I knew then that I had made the right decision by messaging her.

The first thing that I noticed when my friend and I arrived at “Black to the Future” was how radiating the environment was. Since I have ADHD, I constantly search for stimuli to prevent myself from seeming uninterested. But since there were many activities occurring I was focused. My favorite were the panel discussions and the presentation of the new Black Panther trailer (I am a super Marvel fan). The panelists talked about creating video games, app development, cryptocurrency, and film. I was elated hearing information about many areas of technology from people that look like me. Surprisingly, I even began to research some of their topics of discussion. Honestly, the idea of me sitting through an hour discussion about virtual money would have been nonexistent had it not been for hearing the stories of my people and their bravery. I also enjoyed the personal conversations that I was able to have with some of the panelists. Though I am a socially anxious person, I found it easy to speak with them. Amidst feeling too shy, too unaware, too everything they affirmed me that I was on the right path for where I would like to be.

I will forever be grateful for the knowledge that I gained at TEC Leimert’s “Black to the Future” event. I left feeling empowered and I gained new interests. I now know that what I can achieve in life is limitless.

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