Techies dig in at Google (Image: Google)

As part of Google’s commitment to advancing computing and technology, they are providing scholarships to support students in their study of computer science.

The Generation Google Scholarship is a new program for aspiring computer scientists to excel in technology and become active role models and leaders in the field.  Selected students will receive $10,000 USD (for those studying in the US) or $5,000 CAD (for those studying in Canada) a year for up to four years (or until graduation, whichever comes first) so long as they maintain criteria for renewal.  Recipients will also be invited to attend Google’s Computer Science Summer Institute (CSSI) in the summer of 2012.

Who Should Apply?

Applicants must be high school seniors and meet the following eligibility criteria:

• Intends to be enrolled in or accepted as a full-time student at a university in the US or Canada for the 2012-2013 school year
• Intends to be enrolled in or accepted for enrollment in a baccalaureate Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, or related program
• Exemplifies leadership and demonstrates a commitment to and passion for computer science and technology through involvement in their community
• Strong record of academic achievement
• A student from an underrepresented group in computer science (African American, Hispanic, American Indian, Female, or a Person with a Disability)
• Demonstrates financial need.

For complete details, visit the Generation Google Scholarship site.

Deadline to apply: Monday, February 20, 2012

Questions? Email us at generationgoogle@google.com.

For more information about student opportunities at Google, check out www.google.com/students.

(Image: File)

• ‘The Help’ Leads SAG Award Nominations
  

The Help and The Artist are tied in the lead with three Screen Actors Guild nominations each.

Although The Help was overlooked in the best movie category, Viola Davis was nominated for best actress, while co-stars Jessica Chastain and Octavia Spencer are both competing for best supporting actress.

Read more at CNN…

• Romney’s Slogan Used by the Ku Klux Klan

This is not the first time Americans have heard Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s campaign slogan.

According to Americablog, Romney’s campaign phrase “Keep America American” was once a central theme for Ku Klux Klan publications in the 1920s and served as a rallying cry for the group’s campaign of violence against minority groups.

Watch Romney’s campaign ad here:

[The Root]

• Google.org Releases 2011 Grant Recipients

Google’s charitable arm, Google.org, has released its list of 2011 non-profit grant recipients.

The list highlights Google’s work in supporting STEM grants, the fight against slavery and human trafficking, among other pivotal areas.

The grant recipients received a combined $40 million.

Watch the video to learn more about Google.org:

[Mashable]

Making a living recording, editing, and mixing music requires a discerning ear. For Araica, her early training in audio mixing came long before her introduction to Pro Tools, a digital audio workstation used for editing music. She was just a kid when she began tinkering with her father’s stereo system, adjusting the EQ (equalizer) and wondering how she could change the sound of a record. “I was curious to see how something would sound at, like, 60 hertz.” Today, Araica is one of the most highly sought sound engineers, mixing for some of music’s top hit makers.

Salary: “It is quite a big range. An engineer can earn anywhere between $50 an hour to $125 hour, or your day rates can go anywhere from $500 to $1,500 a day. Mixes can go anywhere from $2,000 to $6,000, it just depends on your level and your résumé—it all takes part in what you can command.”

Education: Araica graduated from Full Sail University’s Recording Arts program in Winter Park, Florida, in 2002. She was one of five women in a class of roughly 170 students, graduating with honors and receiving the Advanced Recording Engineer Award that is bestowed upon one student each semester. “I definitely had a couple of people who really tried to discourage me along the way, and it was almost like they made a point to say this is a very male-dominated industry and it’s really tough. For me, that was almost like fuel to get me to go even harder.”

Internship: “I started my internship at the Hit Factory in Miami as a general assistant. I did everything from running food, to cleaning, to painting walls, and blowing leaves out of the parking lot. About two months into my internship I got a call from the studio manager. He said, ‘Missy Elliott just called. She’s on her way here in 15 minutes, and I don’t have anyone to be the second engineer in the room. Do you think you can do it?’ I went from all that grunge work to working with Missy. She took a real liking to me, and from that first session on she requested me as the second engineer. Be ready, because you never know.”

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Philanthropy: Araica launched the Red Bottoms Foundation to support the growth of women in the music industry through internships and scholarships. She also awards annual scholarships to female students at her alma mater. “I try to do as many panels and speaking forums as I can, and let them know that they shouldn’t be discouraged by people who say women don’t do this or do that. Don’t be discouraged by what is ‘normal.’ It’s really important to think out of the box, that is what I attribute my success to. I see myself as a trendsetter. When I’m in the studio mixing I try to find that next thing. I ask myself what hasn’t been done or what can I do to really bring this song a unique sound that people are going to be talking about—like I left a footprint, my trademark. It’s not just a job, it’s a legacy. I see myself as a pioneer in what I do, being one of the very few women out there doing it.”

Favorite Part of the Job: “The engineer is a big asset in the equation of creating a record. People just think it’s the producer and an artist, and then a record comes out. But the mixing process is the final stamp on the song through sounds. You can spend anywhere between 6 to 8 or 15 to 24 hours, or maybe two days or more, on a song just making sure that everything is in its right place, from levels to the effects that you want to put on vocals, to the type of kick that you’re using and EQing. It’s very intricate, but that’s my favorite part of the job because to me, it’s like painting a picture. You’re really painting the whole story behind [a song] through sound.”

Why is it important to have a knowledge base in the sciences?
We should all embrace and value—at a minimum—that people [should be] scientifically literate so that, as an electorate, you can make informed decisions about issues that rise up; your knowledge of science impacts how you might vote on an issue or on important decisions related to the future of society, its economy, the environment. All of these, at their core, involve scientific literacy. And I don’t expect everyone to want to be a scientist.

How can parents and educators nourish their children’s interest in science?
It’s all about access to opportunity. All I can do is be visible in my activities. I no longer do Black History Month talks. If that’s when you think of inviting me to talk, then clearly if I never show up in your thoughts the other 11 months I’m not as visible a scientist as I should be. The next step would be to provide an environment that doesn’t interfere with what might be seeds of curiosity that could lead to someone being a scientist.

Is there something business media or leaders in the sciences can do to let people know that there are opportunities?
If you go to college on the premise that the point is to get a good job, then you’re not talking about academia but a trade school. The original point of college was to train you how to think. If you choose a subject that interests you, without a reference to a job at the end of the line, chances are you’ll be really good at that. The marketplace could change in four years. That’s the problem with picking something based on a job waiting for you on the other end, as opposed to, “Let me embrace all there is to know, and learn and gain insight during my years in college.”

Let’s say I’m a young man growing up in the inner city. How best can I become another Dr. Tyson?
I’m flattered by that question. There’s no one person I wanted to become growing up. If I required a black person who became a scientist who grew up in the Bronx to have come before me, I would have never become what I am. I found someone who had total mastery of physics and asked that person, “What schools did you go to, how did you study?” I found a person who folded a sense of humor into their work. I found people who had a sense of integrity, who were hard workers. I cobbled all this together, and that’s the person I wanted to become.

Deborah Scott Thomas (Image: Subject)

This week on The Urban Business Roundtable, UBR contributor Renita D. Young speaks with Deborah Scott Thomas, the president and CEO of Data Solutions and Technologies (DST) in Lanham, Maryland. DST provides a full-spectrum of professional services in information technology, aviation management, and scientific and technology support for state and federal agencies, marking her among the few Black female STEM industry entrepreneurs.

Prior to starting her company, Thomas spent three decades serving in the U.S. Air Force Reserves, eventually retiring with the rank of colonel. In 1994, she launched DTS, acquiring clients including the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency and even the Executive Office of the President of the United States. Along the way, Thomas earned numerous awards, including the Legacy of Leadership Award from Spelman College and the Bronze Eagle Award from the National Black Coalition of Federal Aviation Employees. Thomas joins the roundtable to share how she transformed a career of military leadership to become a distinguished business leader.

Also, UBR Contributor Jason Smith speaks with Bahiyah Shabazz, the founder and CEO of Shabazz Management Group, a financial improvement and personal development firm. An author, speaker and columnist, Shabazz brings her expertise to the Roundtable to show entrepreneurs how to win business lenders over and increase the odds of getting the business loans they need for their ventures.

In addition, in my “Alfred’s Notepad” segment, I share the most important things to focus on when pitching your business to potential investors, and why it’s important for entrepreneurs to learn and practice the important skill of asking for investment capital. This crucial skill set was brought to the fore in the latest installment of CNN’s Black In America: The New Promised Land, Silicon Valley, hosted by award-winning journalist Soledad O’Brien, during which several talented Black technology entrepreneurs pitched their business ideas with hopes of gaining much-need funding for their ventures. The No. 1 lesson learned: Pitching your business for capital is more than just a talent show.

And finally, every week on UBR, you’ll get motivation and inspiration from author and entrepreneurial icon Farrah Gray, a weekly wrap-up of business news from USA Today business correspondent Charisse Jones, our Patient Investor Report from Ariel Investments and key economic intelligence for small business owners from our UBR economists Derrick Collins and Rasheed Carter.

If you have a question you want answered or a topic you want addressed on The Urban Business Roundtable, connect with me at BE Insider, the social media network for people who are serious about Black Enterprise. You can also find me on Twitter and Facebook.

Alfred Edmond Jr. is the senior VP/editor-at-large of Black Enterprise and the host of the Urban Business Roundtable, a weekly radio show, sponsored by Ariel Investments, airing CST Wednesdays at 8:30 a.m., Thursdays at 6:30 p.m. and Saturdays at 9:30 a.m. on WVON-AM 1690, the Talk of Chicago. You can also listen live online at WVON.com. Check back each week for UBR Spotlight, which features additional resources, advice and information from and about the topics, entrepreneurs and experts featured on the show.

Is Michael Arrington Racist?

After watching the video clip, where he states, “I don’t know a single Black entrepreneur,” and reading his blog post, “Racism: the Game,” I truly don’t believe that Michael Arrington is a racist based upon those two slices of information. What I do believe is that whether he thinks he was bamboozled or hoodwinked into the CNN interview, it is clear that he was stating how he truly felt—right, wrong or indifferent. The reality is that Arrington is not alone in his sentiment. He may be the most outspoken but, definitely not alone.

My NewME Accelerator Experience

Why am I jumping into the conversation? First, let me provide you some context of who I am. I’m a 39-year-old mechanical engineer from Detroit and co-founder of a startup called Gokit (the startup world would call me a non-technical founder because I don’t code.) I was one of the 11 startup founders in the NewME Accelerator this past summer, which was the first minority led tech accelerator. I had a very eye-opening experience living in Silicon Valley. For anyone in the tech startup space spending time in Silicon Valley is imperative if you have the opportunity. It provides you a contextual understanding of the startup ecosystem: veteran entrepreneurs, angel investors, startups, events and venture capitalists (VCs).

During the nine-week program, I had the opportunity to be immersed in the startup culture spending time at Facebook with their platform developer, Mitch Kapor, a mentor who commercialized the spreadsheet at Lotus, and much more. I found that there are some very good people in Silicon Valley that see talent and are willing to provide information for those who get access.

The reality of Silicon Valley hit me the first week of the program when I heard two terms/phrases that embodied my trip and the obstacles that many African American founders face in launching successful startups: “meritocracy” and “pattern matching.”

Let’s first start by defining both terms:

• Meritocracy is defined as opportunity being determined purely based upon talent, merit, credentials, and education alone.
• Pattern Matching is a selection criteria based upon built in basis, meaning that I select people that look and are like me.

In the U.S. it’s pretty safe to say we don’t live in a meritocracy and Silicon Valley and the startup space is not exempt from that. I will go on the record and say that Silicon Valley is absolutely diverse in terms of an ethnic perspective, but there is a total void of an African American presence.

Our experience is captured in CNN’s Black In America 4: The New Promised Land: Silicon Valley. This documentary is groundbreaking. Think about this point; when way the last time you saw a group of African Americans on primetime TV and they were not athletes or entertainers?

Is Silicon Valley Diverse?

Is Silicon Valley unique in the sense of this issue on diversity? According to data in the CB Insights, a report on startups that focuses on gender and race, the answer is absolutely no. The reason that I make this statement is that the report covers New York (Silicon Alley) and Boston, and the issues are the same in those markets. Currently, there is a huge demographic that is totally excluded from the startup space in terms of representation, this group is African American founders, which make up 1% of VC backed startups nationally.

In The Year 2042 Minorities Become the Majority

Where do we go from here? According to the U.S. Census, by the year 2042 minorities (primarily Blacks and Hispanics) will be the majority of the population. How will this change the mindset of the startup space as we move towards that date? Tristan Walker refers to this point in his recent interview with Laurie Segall of CNN Tech Money.

“[2042 is] the year underrepresented minorities—Blacks and Hispanics—will no longer be the minority. They’ll be the majority, and if that’s the case, we need to start thinking about putting folks—Blacks and Hispanics, among others—in positions of leadership and/or leading companies [toward] that goal and that year… There aren’t very many folks who look like me in positions of leadership all around the Valley, and I think that’s something that needs to be discussed and hopefully changed.”

P-TECH Principal Rashid Ferrod Davis

As politicians, scholars and activists debate the state of the nation’s education system there are initiatives being designed and implemented to develop the skills of students to compete within a competitive workforce. On September 8, 2011 the Department of Education, the City University of New York (CUNY) and IBM partnered to open, P-TECH an innovative New York City high school where students are educated an additional two years from grade 9 through 14. In addition to learning traditional core subjects, pupils receive education in the fields of STEM (Science, technology engineering and mathematics), a high school diploma and an Associate’s degree in Applied Science (AAS) in Computer Systems Technology or Electromechanical Engineering Technology.

With IBM underwriting the program, students are given priority for select entry-level positions with the company. P-TECH opened with 104 first year students and will add an estimated 100 students per year, with a total projected enrollment of 400-450 students by 2014. Entrusted with the responsibility of overseeing the success of the school is founding principal, Rashid Ferrod Davis, an education veteran with over 15 years of experience as a teacher, assistant principal and, most recently, the principal of the highly celebrated, Bronx Engineering and Technology Academy (BETA). BlackEnterprise.com spoke with Davis recently to address the academic and socioeconomic challenges of students, promoting entrepreneurship, and his plans for P-TECH.

For the most part corporate philanthropy has focused on distributing money and resources without any real hands-on involvement in schools and organizations. How does this project differ from such common practices?

Davis: This is different because it’s not just about writing a check. They are saying these are the skills we know entry-level workers have and these are the skills workers come with that have three years of work experience. So we’re looking at how we scaffold those skills downward as early as high school. By the end of the six-year model students then develop those soft skills that are missing when students leave college.

What elements of the workplace learning curriculum have been incorporated to ensure that these soft skills are developed?

There are four classes, which include English, math, technology, and workplace learning is its own course. In it there is project-based learning focused around team building, power point usage, coming up with project management solutions. So they understand how to work as a team, develop plans and carry out those plans.

A large majority of your students are expected to come from low-income backgrounds. Along with that will be certain barriers; what is in place to address personal life challenges that students may have?

For 104 students we have two guidance counselors and a talent search coordinator from Brooklyn College to expose them to college and prepare families for the college readiness process. It’s about how do we help families understand financial literacy to prepare for college, college trips and studying for high stakes examinations.

The school is unscreened, which has its potential pros and cons. On one hand it levels out the playing field but on the other hand there are some concerned that without screening you may be setting some students up for failure if they don’t have the solid background needed to pursue this level of advanced work. What is your response to that?

We know that the demand for information technology is outpacing the supply. We want to get underrepresented students and populations to go into science, technology, engineering or math industries. It’s important not to focus only on top tier students. We have to work with those who need strengthening so that they have a shot at middle-income lifestyles via these industries. We did research before executing to make sure we are doing best practices to build literacy and numeracy for them to complete a two-year and four-year degree in a STEM field.

Click here to continue reading…

(Image: ThinkStock)

What support systems are in place for those students who may struggle academically in the program?

First and foremost is hiring the right staff with the core component of dealing with struggling learners. When hiring I made sure that each teacher had the patience, will and desire to allow students to work at it to get confidence that they learned it. Also, we reduced the adult to student ratio. No teachers deal with more than 65 students in any given day. Teachers and other adults get the opportunity to know the students so that helping students build confidence is accelerated.

Teachers can feel overwhelmed and underappreciated with the stresses involved in education and being underpaid. How do you help motivate them through professional development?

The teachers have the opportunity to work with college professors and hear firsthand the expectations to prepare the students academically. CUNY supports them so that they learn pedagogical practices to differentiate lessons and strengthen their content practices. IBM provides them with their own mentors and a liaison on-site to reinforce the workplace-learning curriculum. So it’s a multi-tier approach for the teachers.

The school helps prepare young people for entry-level work with IBM and other companies, but do you also help promote an entrepreneurial spirit within students?

In workplace learning they also have a unit on entrepreneurship. We already have students designing their own video games and gadgets with the opportunity to learn how to go into business at some point for themselves. Through workplace learning they have the opportunity for internships as well as externships via job shadowing. That way they are constantly seeing from multiple perspectives the ins and outs of different companies.

This is a very high stakes project with many stakeholders. So how is success being measured for the students, teachers and yourself?

We are a six-year model with multiple ways to look at success. We’re in the second month but our year-to-date attendance is 97.1 percent. That percentage is impressive since we were not able to screen for attendance. At the end of the year we will look to see who is promoted from grade 9 to 10 and passing Regents exams with no remediation. We will look at the observation process to make sure teachers are getting the support they need to grow in their field. For me I have a performance review that I am rated on each year that deals with my goal setting.

There haven’t been many African American media outlets to feature this story. Most of the outlets covering the school have been mainstream. Why do you think this is the case?

When it comes to people of color we hear on the opposite ends that we are the ones where the gaps need to be closed. But we don’t hear enough about how early college initiatives have been underway for years to make sure that underrepresented students have the opportunity to advance. I think if it’s not coming from the federal level then it is not glamorized the same way as an entertainment issue. Until we have a reality show about education it won’t be on the forefront of people’s agenda.