Malden Students Earn Technology Internships

The high school sophomores, participants in the Youth Tech Entrepreneurs (YTE) program, will help solve technology problems at several Massachusetts state agencies and computer businesses.

Some of the students will work in the offices of the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, the Mayor of Malden, the Department of Education, the Academy of Learning and the Massachusetts Corporation for Educational Telecommunications.

"Youth Tech Entrepreneurs are a valuable asset in solving not just our own computer support needs, but also the needs of Massachusetts government offices and businesses," Commissioner of Education David P. Driscoll said. "It is especially helpful for the computer businesses where the demand for skilled technology workers continues to far outpace the supply."

YTE students are trained for a year during and after school, and on Saturdays before they begin their internships. The training includes hardware and software troubleshooting, communications, and customer service

"The YTE program gives high school students an excellent opportunity to learn and apply valuable technology skills," said Greg Nadeau, Chief Technology Officer of the Massachusetts Department of Education.

Carl Lipani, Director of Management of Information Systems at Malden Government Center, agreed. "After meeting with YTE student Ting Ting Cheng, looking at her resume, and talking with her about her YTE technology training, I realized that she has the high-level technical knowledge to help manage City Hall's computers more efficiently."

"Adults sometimes don't understand teenagers, so it's important to show them that we are reliable, trustworthy, and hard-working," said 16-year-old YTE student Elizabeth Elliott. "YTE helped me get my first real job in technology, and now I can show them what I really know."

Over 170 YTE students will be working in internships in the year 2000. By the summer of 2003, over 2,000 YTE students will be filling much-needed summer technology jobs.

Youth Tech Entrepreneurs (YTE) is a non-profit organization in Massachusetts, founded in October 1997 with the leadership and support of the Massachusetts Department of Education. YTE prepares high school students for leadership and educational achievement by helping them develop computer businesses that benefit underserved communities. After its successful pilot year in 1998-1999 with 18 students at Malden High School, YTE has expanded to 174 students in four school districts, including Malden, Medford, Waltham, and Concord-Carlisle.

YTE's goals are:

• to help students, especially students from groups underrepresented in the technology field, develop the skills they need for tomorrow's high-performance workplace;
• to provide cost-effective computer support and training to schools and local businesses;
• to help every school in Massachusetts develop academically relevant technology programs that foster student leadership.

For more information on the YTE program call the Department of Education at 781-388-3300 or visit the website at http://www.doe.mass.edu/, or visit YTE's student-created website at http://www.yte.org/.