My introduction to mentorship was unexpected.
Over 10 years ago, my friends and I wanted to start a video game studio. I was pretty decent at artist, but had no experience in programming – and so did my friends. At that time I didn’t know where to begin. One of my good friend said that his uncle might be able to help us get started. On a summer afternoon, he introduced me to Ted Pittman. At that time, I’ve never met someone that looked like me that was so knowledgeable about tech.
Ted has worked at high-tech companies all across the U.S. and Europe. In his spare time, he has developed rockets, tracking systems, gyroscopic engines and artificial intelligence software. He’d take us to a diner in Crown Heights and guided us on how we should start create our first game, then taught me programming basics. Although, I’ve put my indie game developer dreams on hold, I became an iOS developer for Adafruit, so things worked out for me. To have Ted as a mentor, meant that he can guide me through that experience — the experience of being the only black person in the room. His mentorship is and was gratfully appreciated.
If you are in need of mentorship, check these organizations out:
Gentlemen’s Factory
The Gentlemen’s Factory is the epicenter for today’s forward thinking multi-cultural man. It is a home for entrepreneurs, thought leaders, activists, creatives and corporate professionals alike.
Christopher Lafayette’s Black Technology Mentorship Program
A mentor mentee program that inspires, educates, and brings underserved Black communities into technology. That also works with companies to enable impact through cultural training and development.
Black Girls Code
Black Girls Code is a nonprofit that seeks to introduce a new generation of young Black girls to technology in general and programming specifically.
#YesWeCode
#YesWeCode is a nationwide Dream Corps initiative aimed at helping 100,000 young men and women from underrepresented backgrounds find success in the tech industry.