MORNING, AND WELCOME BACK TO THE LOCAL VIBE, OR THANK YOU FOR STAYING WITH US. EITHER WAY, YOU ARE RIGHT ON TIME FOR OUR NEXT LIVE GUEST OF THE MORNING HERE AND RIGHT ON TIME THIS WEEKEND, A LOCAL NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION IS HOSTING ITS COMMUNITY TECH DAY EVENT. IT WILL BE HELD OVER TWO DAYS IN WINSTON-SALEM, AND IT IS FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC WITH AN RSVP IMPORTANT TO NOTE THERE. SO JOINING US NOW IS AYANDA SIMON. HE IS THE CO-FOUNDER OF PATHWAY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION WHO IS HOSTING THIS COMMUNITY TECH DAY. SO GOOD MORNING TO YOU. THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE. THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME. I’M EXCITED TO SHARE MORE ABOUT OUR EVENT. WELL, LET’S JUST START WITH THE MISSION OF COMMUNITY TECH DAY. WHAT ARE YOU HOPING PEOPLE GET OUT OF IT? REALLY? COMMUNITY SECTOR IS ABOUT CELEBRATING THE COOL THINGS HAPPENING LOCALLY IN WINSTON-SALEM. UM, THERE ARE AN ARRAY OF TECHNOLOGY COMPANIES LOCALLY WHO WILL BE TAKING PART IN IT, BUT AS WELL AS COMPANIES FROM ACROSS THE STATE. FOR US, IT’S REALLY ABOUT HOW DO WE GIVE EXPOSURE TO EMERGING TECHNOLOGY TO STUDENTS AND LOCAL RESIDENTS, PEOPLE LOOKING TO WORK IN TECH, AS WELL AS LOOKING TO LEARN NEW THINGS IN EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES. SO WE CONSIDER THIS A DAY OF CELEBRATION, A DAY OF LEARNING, AND A DAY OF FELLOWSHIP AND NETWORKING AS WELL. YEAH, FOR SURE. CERTAINLY SOUNDS LIKE THAT. AND WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT EXPERIENCE SIZES AND RESOURCES THAT YOU’LL HAVE THERE? YES, WE HAVE A FULL SLATE OF ACTIVITIES. WE WILL HAVE LIVE DEMOS FROM OUR EXHIBITION STAGE. WE HAVE A CAREER FAIR HAPPENING FOR PEOPLE LOOKING TO GET JOBS IN TECH. WE WILL HAVE A SPECIAL STEM TRIVIA WORKSHEETS FOR STUDENTS WHO WILL BE REWARDED WITH A CASH PRIZE JUST FOR PAYING ATTENTION TO PITCHES. AND THEN LASTLY, WE’RE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT WE WILL HAVE WINSTON-SALEM STATE UNIVERSITY’S HBCU BAND PERFORMING. UM, SO THAT IS SOMETHING THAT’S DEFINITELY DIFFERENT WITH A CAREER TECH FAIR. SO WE HAVE A FULL BAND CLOSING OUT THE DAY, UH, REALLY JUST EXCITED ABOUT ALL THE ACTIVITIES PEOPLE CAN ENJOY. THEY ARE REALLY TALENTED. THAT’LL BE A COOL WAY TO LIVEN UP THE ENTIRE EVENT, BUT IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU HAVE A LOT GOING ON AS IT IS. CAN YOU TALK MORE ABOUT YOUR ORGANIZATION AS A WHOLE? AGAIN, THE UM, PATHWAY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION, HOW DOES YOUR ORGANIZATION HELP CITIES WITH SOLVING REALLY COMPLEX PROBLEMS? YES. SO WE RUN A PROGRAM CALLED THE HBCU SMART CITIES CHALLENGE, WHERE WE WORK WITH WHAT ARE TIER TWO TO TIER FOUR CITIES. THESE ARE CITIES WITH SOMETIMES UNDER 100,000 OR 50,000 POPULATION. WE WORK ALONGSIDE THEM TO HELP TRANSFORM THEM INTO SMART CITIES. WE START WITH WE’RE RECEIVING A PROBLEM STATEMENT FROM THESE CITIES, AND THEN WE WORK WITH HBCU TALENT TO HELP BUILD A REAL WORLD SOLUTION TO A REAL WORLD PROBLEM. WE DO THAT OVER FIVE MONTHS, AND THE UPCOMING TWO DAY EVENT IS A CULMINATION OF THAT WORK FROM MY HBCU FELLOWS, AS WELL AS JUST CELEBRATING ALL THE COOL THINGS HAPPENING IN WINSTON-SALEM. OH, OKAY. SO ALSO A CELEBRATION. NICE TO NOTE. YEAH, IT IS FOR SURE. AND HOW ARE YOU CULTIVATING FUTURE TECH LEADERS WITH YOUR ORGANIZATION? REALLY LIKE SETTING DOWN THE STEPPING STONES FOR THE NEXT GENERATION STUFF TO GET INVOLVED WITH TECH. EXACTLY. WELL, THE CORNERSTONE OF OUR PROGRAM IS REALLY HOW DO WE UPSKILL STUDENTS, PREPARE THEM FOR THE WORLD THEY’RE ENTERING INTO. SO WE DO THAT THROUGH OUR CHALLENGE. BUT WHAT COMMUNITY TECH DAY IS ABOUT IS HOW DO WE DO THAT AND DEEPEN THE PIPELINE IN K THROUGH 12? HOW DO WE HAVE MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS GET ACCESS TO STEM EARLY THAT WAY WHEN THEY BECOME OF AGE, THEY LOOK AT THEMSELVES AS PROBLEM SOLVERS AND PEOPLE CAN HELP UPLIFT THEIR COMMUNITY BY USING THE TECH SKILLS THEY’VE GAINED BY TAKING PART IN OUR PROGRAM. SO IT’S REALLY IMPORTANT FOR US TO MAKE SURE WE CULTIVATE THOSE LEADERS AND GIVE THEM THE RIGHT SKILLS AND THE RESOURCES THEY NEED TO SUCCEED, AND THEN HELP CITIES LIKE WINSTON-SALEM BE BETTER. YEAH, I LOVE THAT IDEA OF GIVING THEM THAT MENTALITY THAT THEY’RE PROBLEM SOLVERS, EVEN IF THEY DON’T EVEN HAVE THE LOGISTICAL SKILLS OF BUILDING TECH OR THINGS LIKE THAT. JUST HAVING THAT MENTALITY MAKES A HUGE DIFFERENCE. IT DOES. UM, I WANT TO MAKE SURE YOU CAN HIT ON ANY OTHER WAYS WE CAN GET INVOLVED WITH THE PATHWAY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OUTSIDE OF THIS EVENT. YES, PLEASE. YOU CAN GO TO THE PATHWAY OC OR GOOGLE PATHWAY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION. THIS IS A TWO DAY EVENT. SO WHILE WE HAVE COMMUNITY TECH DAY, THE NEXT DAY WE ARE HAVING OUR HBCU SMART CITIES CHALLENGE PITCH COMPETITION LIVE ON WINSTON-SALEM STATE UNIVERSITY’S CAMPUS. THAT WILL BE FROM 12 TO 3. UM, SO YOU CAN COME OUT TO EITHER ONE OF THOSE EVENTS. THEY WILL BE FREE. AND WE’RE EXPECTING A LOT OF FOLKS IN THE LOCAL COMMUNITY TO COME OUT AND HEAR SOME OF THE COOL THINGS WE’RE WORKING ON IN WINSTON-SALE. AND FOR THAT PITCH DAY, PEOPLE PROBABLY NEED TO REGISTER AHEAD OF TIME. OR IS THAT ALREADY CLOSED? NO, IT IS OPEN. SO WHEN YOU REGISTER FOR COMMUNITY TECH DAY, YOU GET A FREE TICKET TO COME TO THE PITCH COMPETITION EVENT ON SATURDAY. SO IT’S A DUAL TICKET YOU GET, SO YOU GET TWO FOR THE PRICE OF ONE AND IT’S FREE. OH PERFECT. YEAH. WOW. EASY WIN WINS ALL AROUND I AND THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME THIS MORNING FOR EXPLAINING ALL OF THAT. AND EVERYONE AT HOME, THAT TWO WINSTON-SALEM DAY ONE WILL BE AT THE BENTON CONVENTION CENTER, AND THEN DAY TWO WILL BE THERE AT WINSTON SALEM STATE UNIVERSITY FOR THAT PITCH COMPETITION. AS HE JUST MENTIONED. FREE EVENT. YOU DO HAVE TO REGISTER BEFORE HAND. WE’LL HAVE THE DIRE