Youngsters Build Computers at Tech Bridge Academy
posted 07/09/09
2:30 pm
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Charleston, SC -
Imagine building a computer from scratch and then getting to take it home with you. This summer, 7th and 8th grade students are doing just that at Tech Bridge Academy.
73 students statewide, including 11 in Charleston, are taking part in a free summer program put on by the 1890 extension program of South Carolina State University.
"The program focuses on academic enhancement and reading and math. We also touch on internet safety as well as career decision making," explained Demier Richardson, Senior Extension Director at SCSU.
In addition to class work, students spend two days learning how to build a computer.
"The mother board is a lot bigger and I think it has a little more wires to connect," 8th grader Sedara Steed said.
"I knew it was going to be hard, but when I finished I was pleased with myself because I didn’t give up this time and its the first time I did something that was this complicated and I got lost a little bit so that made me really happy that I kept on doing it and I didn’t stop," 7th grader Alton Williams said.
However, the instructor says the real excitement came after the computers were built.
"When they hit the power button, it was amazing, the reaction," Instructor Kimberly Murray said.
The computers are a big incentive for students to complete the 5-week session.
"They do have goals that they have to meet, but at the conclusion of the program they do gain ownership of the computer free of charge," Murray explained.
For many, that's life-changing, because in addition to other requirements, each student must come from a home without a computer to be accepted into the program.
Burke High School is one of 5 locations hosting the Tech Bridge Academy and by the end of this summer the program will have provided computers to 252 families in South Carolina.
Engineering firm Henkels & Mccoy donated the computer kits for the students taking part.
It’s the 4th year for the program, which rotates through different counties each year.
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