Mentorship and STEM: Dallas organization encourages innovation for youth with upcoming robotics event
By Lena Foster
Maya Angelou said “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” In today’s tech-centric society, where we’re always connected, yet somehow more isolated, how one makes others feel can go a long way. Society’s new ways of connecting (or isolating) people through technology has meant putting away old ways and stepping into the present. Especially when it comes to impacting young people.
Combining mentorship with innovation can open doors for young minds and unlock new opportunities for growth and inventive thinking, past what they’ve been exposed to in their own communities. Today, organizations like Big Brothers Big Sisters of America (BBBS) help to bridge the gap between effective mentoring and revolutionary technology by providing young people with life-changing guidance and enriching experiences that show them anything is possible, regardless of the cards dealt; potentially evoking a spark and desire that many didn’t know existed.
David Williams knows this life-hack all too well. Williams credits BBBS for being the first organization that showed him that his future reaches well beyond his circumstance. David is the assistant vice president of hyper-automation at AT&T, leading one of the largest robotic process automation programs in the world. In his role, he looks for the most cost-efficient solutions for business problems using software.
Along with helping 40,000 people transition from in-office work to safely working from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Williams has been involved in some of AT&T’s most advanced technological developments and projects. David’s work has included the creation of visual interactive voice response systems and the implementation of generative AI into workspaces for employees. Williams earned a degree from Dallas Baptist University in marketing, and after getting a job at the AT&T Network Dispatch Center, he finished his college journey through AT&T’s Tuition Reimbursement program. He leveled up in the company, moving forward with his automation pursuits while creating new technologies and strategies that helped the company generate millions.
Williams also won the Legacy Award at the 2021 Black Engineer of the Year STEM Global Competitiveness Conference, and from there he’s only gained the momentum, going on to organize robot workshops in underserved neighborhoods in Dallas.
The workshops are used to introduce STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) to the youth, showing them that a small idea has the potential to be a bright one. Once David’s workshops began to gain popularity throughout the state of Texas, Williams was able to expand the program’s reach nationally, and now, globally. His solar robot workshops draw in young, curious minds, who are tasked with building robots, raising them, and showcasing their work. Towards the end of each session, Williams gifts participants with the technology they’d just worked to create.
Williams remembers growing up in South Dallas and having to sell candy to pay for his school lunch at a young age, but according to him, seeing the generational development in this digital age fuels him to help young people channel their imagination and see STEM as an option for a higher probability of success.
“They have ingenuity and innovation inside of them,” Williams says.
Williams continues to advocate for overcoming adversity and fulfilling ambitions through his book “Business Model”, and this year, Williams was named Distinguished Engineer of the Year by the National Society of Black Engineers.
Williams cultivates youth success through his position as a board of director member for Big Brothers Big Sisters, Dallas County, but before he served in this position, he got to experience the organization’s impact firsthand as a little brother.
His journey started after he lost his father at the age of 8. Williams’ mother reached out to BBBS for her son who she saw was in need of male mentorship. Once he was involved in the organization, Williams got to experience some defining moments with his big brother. David recalls learning how his big brother taught him to drive a stick shift, went with him to get his first vehicle, took him to see Michael Jackson perform, and constantly engaged with him in insightful conversations about life.
Williams’ time as a little brother in the organization planted that seed that would later help him to take action by leveraging those moments. Now, David points to those core memories in order to foster a new age of innovation and enlightenment for the youth he now serves.
“My big brother poured into me when my circumstances might have overshadowed my future,” Williams said. “That fuels the passion for helping others.”
The initial STEM workshops organized by Williams ignited that hunger and fascination in the youth for STEM learning, and it paved the way for similar engagements. Now, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Dallas County will be hosting a Dream Big Bot Party, where young people can learn more about solar energy and robotics.
Like those early workshops, students who attend will get the opportunity to spend the day engaging in conversations about the discovery of solar energy and the inventor behind solar panels. Along with discussions, participants will get to build robots and compete in a race against the other student-built bots. After racing, there will be a period of reflection on how the bots can improve society.
BBBS follows a purpose of creating effective, one-to-one mentoring relationships that uplift youth, and with this event, attendees seeking a mentor-mentee relationship will be able to connect with the ideal match.
Through mentorship from her parents, church leaders and school educators, Jamila Thomas, senior vice president for BBBS, has understood what it means to give back and showcase genuine care for others. One experience truly solidified Thomas’ perception of serving others. Thomas traveled Africa with her teacher and peers, and once they arrived, they visited a village and saw 20 girls thrilled to have been given access to a new library. Thomas noted that although she’d been used to seeing plenty of libraries in Dallas, she noticed there was a lack of libraries in the village. That was her first understanding of privilege and need. She then understood just how powerful serving others could be, especially when it came to the youth.
“It’s people serving people, it’s hearts connecting with hearts, humanity connecting with humanity,” Thomas said.
Thomas has also worked as a community organizer to establish the Racial Equity Office for the Dallas Independent School District, which was the first Racial Equity Office in the state of Texas for a school system. Thomas was responsible for developing culturally responsive policies and programs aimed at closing the achievement gap while building culturally intelligent practices for faculty and staff. Working with the office, Thomas intended on bringing people together in a humanitarian-centered lens focused on making sure young people’s voices and stories were heard and valued.
“It was through this work that upon leaving Dallas ISD and entering a new role with BBBS that I carried a sense of responsibility to ensure bigs and littles understood the power of social capital and educational equity,” Thomas said.
For more than 100 years, BBBS has impacted youth from all walks of life, and these relationships help set the foundation for those looking to go beyond supporting and transition from mentoring to actively sponsoring these children. The desire to see others succeed and thrive has been the driving force for those volunteering with the organization.
Dallas native Jamila Thomas, senior vice president for BBBS, shared how the longevity, safety, security and infrastructure of the organization makes it an ideal program that ensures meaningful community partnerships and valuable mentor-mentee duos that are sustainable.
Some people may have misconceptions when it comes to true mentorship. Some believe the mentorship is just verbal guidance. Thomas and Williams agree that BBBS has mentors that evolve into sponsors, which means they put in the effort needed to ensure their mentor is taken care of. From connecting mentees to the right people for job assistance to making the phone calls needed to get them the resources, both know that going the extra mile with mentoring can provide that validation to the mentee that the mentor is there for the long haul.
With Williams’ resources and experience with the corporate of technology and Thomas’ mission to promote partnerships with community organizations and agencies that align with BBBS goals and values, an almost natural collaboration originated to create an event where young people can see tangible results of the technological creativity.
By presenting STEM in an engaging and hands-on format, Williams and Thomas believe this workshop has the potential to inspire students to take a step further and learn more about how they could use their curiosity, creativity and originality to discover new possibilities related to technology.
“That is what creates opportunities for our children to grow and to see these things that perhaps they wouldn’t see in a typical classroom, and it also brings the classroom to life,” Thomas said.
The upcoming bot party could be seen as opportune for those who might not have the navigational resource they are looking for to progress like they could. Individuals interested in getting involved with BBBS, either as a mentor or mentee, or even as a volunteer will get the chance to see the level of impact this organization amplifies.
BBBS establishes “meaningful, monitored matches” between the adult volunteers, who are referred as the “bigs”, and the youth mentees, known as the “littles”. Littles can be as young as 5 and can go into young adulthood.
BBBS has an intentional process to get the specific details they need to put the puzzle pieces together and establish a suitable mentor-mentee relationship. To verify a mentor or mentee before the pairing, BBBS starts with an in-depth application process that leads to an extensive background check and interview. The two-hour interview process gives the organization the chance to get acquainted with the potential mentee or mentor, their family dynamics, and personal preferences.
Each match has a match support specialist who ensures safety and security from start to finish. By doing monthly check-ups with the big and little, these degreed social workers make sure the match is coherent and cohesive, and can operate effectively.
Some of the programs offered include:
- Community-based flagship program; the mentor and mentee can experience events and activities in the community
- Site-based program; the mentor will engage with their mentee at school
- Mentor 2.0; the big and little interact on an online platform and they discuss post secondary preparedness, college, vocational training, etc.; they meet once a month with other mentors and mentees
BBBS also offers additional and ancillary programs that can focus on those needing guidance after graduation or even youth who experienced incarceration.
This inaugural bot party will take place on April 27 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., in the North Oak Cliff Auditorium, located at 302 West Tenth St.
“I never want to try to achieve any level of success without trying to help someone else,” Williams said. “I think that our greatest responsibility is to leave a legacy and not an entourage.”
