North Valley Caring Services (NVCS), a community-based nonprofit in the North Hills, is now home to the Best Buy Teen Tech Center, an after-school space where teens can get hands-on experience with the latest technology.
Fashion-minded teens can design and print pin badges and T-shirts, visually inclined youngsters can take photos of each other in front of the studio's fully lit backdrops, and musically interested students can operate audio equipment and make beats.
The center is a one-stop shop for young people to explore technology devices and develop their creativity, with DSLR cameras, VR headsets, drones, 3D design tools, T-shirt presses, audio production equipment, computers and more.
“It's like a playground for your brain, where you get to try new things, sometimes fail, but you're always learning and having fun,” said local teen Emily Cortez.
The center's goal is to bridge the digital divide by providing teens with technical education opportunities, building self-confidence and relationships that help them build a foundation for success in school and the workplace.
“I think this is a real beacon of the arts in the community — not just the arts, but technology, arts, careers, entrepreneurship and simply career training,” said Michael Goodson, who served as youth programs coordinator for NVCS before taking on the role of local coordinator for the Teen Tech Center.
Goodson has already spent time “getting to know the community, the kids, the parents, the schools, and the specific hazards in this area.” He thinks this will help kids feel safe exploring and will aid in the process of understanding what the specific needs of this place are.
Pipelines to careers in technology and the arts
“Growing up in the 6th District, I have seen how easily young people in this community, in my community, can get left behind in life due to a lack of support systems and tools to get ahead,” said Council Member Imelda Padilla.
“North Valley Caring Services has been there to strengthen resilience, and now local young people will have even more tools to reach their full potential.”
In addition to access to equipment, mentors and volunteers will provide support, training and tuition to the teens. Best Buy and Microsoft employees will provide equipment and software training, and volunteers such as photographer David Blumenkranz will donate their time for ongoing tuition.
Joseph Diaz, a market consultant for Microsoft, comes to the office at least once a month to provide coding sessions, resume-building and other computing skills training.
“It gives me joy to be able to give back,” said Diaz, who grew up in a low-income family in the Valley area.
“I consider this place a blessing,” he added. “I can only imagine how much further I could have taken myself if I had had these tools earlier. [forward]. ”
Teens can also participate in career training programs, internships, job opportunities, and scholarships for higher education.
“It's simply a matter of opportunity and access,” Goodson believes.
“A lot of times people are given the same kind of heart, the same kind of aspirations, but they never really have the same access or the same opportunities. And being able to provide that here, we've already seen the impact, so it's only going to grow from here,” he said.
Goodson noted that after just a few months, a teenage girl named Brianna reluctantly picked up a camera but now wants to be a photographer, and Emily has already mastered all the technology the center has to offer.
“They give us the tools and tell us how to use them, but it's up to us to make the most of it,” Emily said.
Overall picture
The goal is to build a total of 100 Best Buy Teen Tech Centers nationwide by 2025. This is the 60th center, the first in the Valley and the fourth in Los Angeles County, an area designated as a Community Impact Hub. In partnership with the Greater Los Angeles Education Foundation and the Annenberg Foundation, 12 Teen Tech Centers will be built across the Los Angeles metropolitan area.
Calvin Sells, senior program director at Annenberg Tech, said the data, which analyzed aspects such as poverty, the impact of COVID-19 and broadband access, was overlaid to identify areas where the technology center could have the greatest impact.
They then looked for a partner “like North Valley Care Services, who had a proven track record with young people, the right space and was ready to take on the project.”
“The great thing about the centers is that they're hyper-local in a way,” Sels said, with each one “working locally to serve a local need” and bringing their own “unique programming and finishes.”
“We want this facility to inspire creativity and create a safe space for our teams to really find their passion,” said Andre Anthony, Best Buy's regional manager for West Coast Teen Tech Centers.
Anthony said as long as Best Buy remains in business, it will continue to provide the center with $10,000 worth of state-of-the-art equipment each year, based on interest from local youth.
“As the site begins to find its identity we intend to support that,” he said.
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