Teen Tech Center offers after-school sanctuary in North Hills

Lina PortmanMay 30, 2024

0 4 minutes read

The nonprofit community organization North Valley Caring Services (NVCS) in 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.

Teens with a passion for fashion can design and print pins and t-shirts, visually inclined young people can photograph themselves in a setting fully equipped with studio lights, and students with a passion for music can play around with audio equipment to create beats .

With DSLR cameras, VR headsets, drones, 3D design tools, a t-shirt press, audio production equipment, computers and more, the center is a one-stop shop for young people to explore technological equipment and develop their creativity.

“It’s like a playground for our brains, where we can try new things, and sometimes make mistakes, but still learn and have fun while doing it,” said Emily Cortez, a local teenager.

The center's goal is to bridge the digital divide by giving adolescents access to technology education opportunities and relationships that help build confidence and create a foundation for academic and career success.

“I think it’s going to end up being a real beacon for art in the community. Not just art, but technology, art, careers, entrepreneurship and just job training,” said Michael Goodson, who was youth program coordinator at NVCS before becoming on-site coordinator of the Teen Tech Center .

Goodson has already spent time “getting to know the community, getting to know the kids, the parents, the schools and the dangers that exist here and that are unique to this community.” He thinks it helped the kids feel comfortable exploring and helped them figure out what the special needs of this place are.

A pipeline to careers in technology and the arts

“Growing up in the Sixth District, I have witnessed how easily young people in this community, my community, can fall behind in life due to the lack of support systems and means to get ahead,” said said City Councilor Imelda Padilla.

“North Valley Caring Services is here to build resilience. And now our local youth will have even more tools to reach their full potential.

In addition to accessing equipment, mentors and volunteers provide support, training and classes to teens. Employees from Best Buy and Microsoft provide training on equipment and software, while volunteers, like photographer David Blumenkrantz, contribute their time to ongoing classes.

Joseph Diaz, a Microsoft market consultant, comes in at least once a month to provide computer skills training, such as coding sessions and resume building.

“It’s a joy for me to be able to give back,” said Diaz, who grew up in a low-income family in the Valley.

“I consider this place a blessing,” he added. “I can only imagine if I had these tools earlier, how much further I could have catapulted myself [forward].”

Teens are also connected to job training programs, internships, job opportunities, and postsecondary scholarships.

Goodson believes that “it’s just a matter of opportunity and access.”

“People often have the same type of heart, the same type of desires, but never really have the same type of access and opportunity. Being able to provide that here, I've already seen its impact. So it’s only going to grow from here,” he said.

Goodson pointed out that after just a few months, a teenager named Briana reluctantly held a camera, but now wants to become a photographer, and that Emily has already gotten her hands on all the technology the center has to offer.

“They give us the tools and show us how to use them, but it’s up to us to make the most of them,” Emily said.

Overview

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 location in LA County, an area that has been designated a Community Impact Center. In partnership with the Greater Los Angeles Education Foundation and the Annenberg Foundation, 12 teen technology centers will be built across the general Los Angeles metropolitan area.

Calvin Selth, AnnenbergTech's senior program manager, said they overlaid data analyzing aspects such as poverty, the effects of COVID-19 and access to broadband, to identify areas where centers technologies could have the greatest impact.

They then looked for “partners like North Valley Care Services, who had a track record of working with young people, a suitable space and were ready to take on the project”.

“What I like about the centers is that they become hyper-local, in a way,” Selth said. Each center “brings its local touch to make it responsive” to the needs of the community and creates “its own types of programs and finishes.”

Andre Anthony, who works for Best Buy as the territory relations manager for the West Coast Teen Tech Centers, said they “want this to be able to spark that creativity and be a safe space where teams can really find their passions.” .

As long as Best Buy is operational, Anthony said he will continue to provide $10,000 worth of updated equipment each year to the center, based on the interests of local teens.

“As this site begins to find its identity, we will help support it,” he said.