Emory Vasquez, a third-grader at Peak to Peak Charter School, helps residents at Waneka Park Assisted Living in Lafayette on Sept. 24. Emory is the founder of her Connect Digital Inclusion Labs, a student-led nonprofit that offers technology assistance sessions in Lafayette. (Provided photo)
Emory Vasquez, a senior at Peak to Peak Charter School, founded the student-led nonprofit in 2023, inspired by the help her family received after her home was destroyed in the Marshall Fire.
His passion for technology led him to found Connect Digital Inclusion Labs, which provides free technology support at drop-in sessions at the Lafayette Public Library and assisted living communities. Student teams work with people of all ages, but the focus is on supporting older adults and people with disabilities.
“The community really helped me after the fire, and I wanted to give back,” Vasquez said. “I've been interested in technology ever since I was a kid watching 'Iron Man' and seeing all the futuristic technology. I was always helping my grandma. I'm Sister Carmen. I volunteered there and helped with technology. That's when I came up with this idea.”
The next Technology Lab at the Lafayette Public Library will be April 21 from 1 to 3 p.m. The library is located at 775 W Baseline Road. For a detailed schedule, please visit connectdigitalinclusionlabs.com.
In addition to drop-in labs at the library, students work with several community organizations, including the Emergency Family Assistance Association, Sister Carmen, and the ARC of Weld County.
They help with internet skills, social media skills, and online security. In addition to being proficient in a variety of technology skills, some of our student volunteers also speak Spanish. Vasquez said he has helped with everything from setting up phones for seniors to setting up Minecraft servers for young people.
“People really appreciate someone helping them,” he says. “It's not just technical support. We're there to talk. I think people really enjoy that.”
Vasquez founded the nonprofit while taking AP classes, running on the track team and serving as the instruction and support manager for his school's computer science honor society. But now, with a steering committee and dedicated volunteers, “things are going pretty smoothly” and the workload is manageable, he said.
Eight students serve on the nonprofit's steering committee: Colin Drake, Aidan Krusinski, Calvin Johnson, Bennett Ross, Asher Schott, Jack Cerullo, Arnab Jain, and Vasquez.
Drake, a Peak to Peak junior, got to go and participate with Vasquez in the first session at the Lafayette Library, helping people solve technology problems. He said he stayed there because he liked it.
“We simply don’t have the resources to address the digital divide among older adults,” he said. “That's why Emory founded it, and that's why we do it. There's a huge generation gap.”
Additionally, he said some of the stories people share about their lives while helping, such as a man who worked at technology company Bell Laboratories, are “really amazing.”
“We had a very interesting conversation,” he said. “People have so many stories to tell. You get to hear about their lives, experiences, and wisdom.”
Drake and Vasquez both want to turn their love of technology into a career.
Drake, who is interning at a technology company and writing papers on machine learning in his free time, said he is “fully invested” in technology.
“It’s more of an obsession than a hobby,” he said.
Vazquez plans to earn a graduate degree in computer science and hopes to pursue a career in AI.
“I love every part of computer science,” he said. “I'm seriously thinking about what my passion is.”
