Connecting high-paying Silicon Valley jobs with Black students is the mission of congressman Ro Khanna.
Khanna has partnered with Jackson State University to encourage students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities to involve themselves in careers at top corporate tech companies, beginning in his district – the 17th congressional district in California.
“There are ambitious students at our HBCUs, but we need to provide the capital to them so that they can realize their dreams,” Khanna said.
The congressman wants to include Black Southerners in the digital revolution, learning about and working with artificial intelligence and technology.
Currently, Khanna is creating a way to accomplish this goal by establishing a program for students at JSU to learn directly from the experts.
“I represent Silicon Valley – $14 trillion of market value. I’ve got Apple, Google, Tesla, Nvidia, and Broadcom – all trillion dollar companies in my district,” Khanna emphasized. “And we need to create opportunities for the Black South to have high-paying technology jobs.”
Khanna served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce under President Barack Obama. He spoke about his efforts on Thursday at the Smith Robertson Museum.
“I was in a cyber security program this summer,” said Sumaia Alsharari, a student at JSU.
The 18-year-old college sophomore is majoring in biology, but is still taking advantage of opportunities in technology.
“We’re now in this generation – it’s all AI,” Alsharari said. “So, that’s how it’s going and I feel like everyone needs to be able to know how to work with it.”
35 JSU students have undergone the 10-month TechWise Program offered by TalentSprint and supported by Google, where they receive a $5,000 stipend while working in tech development.
“Those students end up getting some high-paying tech jobs,” said JSU Research and Economic Development Vice President Dr. Almesha Campbell. “They have skills they won’t necessarily get in the classroom. So, it’s more of a workforce development opportunity that will prepare them for those tech jobs immediately after graduation.”
12 JSU students are currently enrolled in this program that typically leads to careers with annual salaries starting at $65,000.
