Everett Framework for Social Good

I hope to see Everett and its framework, or at least a similar learning model, at more schools. I know that’s something we’ve talked about in the program for a long time.  I hope to see more UC students especially, since we now have an online version of our intro class accessible to all UC students. We have a really unique combination between tech and social good. There’s a small intersection that we operate in, you can start from nowhere. A program like Everett provides a lot of the confidence to pursue tech in a way that is useful for social good and for social outcomes that we’ve been working towards. Also, a lot of  tech and STEM spaces are really clinical, they’re not necessarily taught in practical ways. There’s a level of comfort that comes in the learning and teaching of these applications that you can’t really get anywhere else.  They’re not just for you to learn, but they’re really awesome tools for practical change work that is useful for everyone, whether you’re from a social science or a STEM background.

There’s a certain level of inherent comfort in having a mentor who can relate to you on an unspoken level. My mentor Amber’s presence, though unknowingly, made me feel safe. I felt safe in growing into myself without worrying about how I was being perceived, in the context of what I looked like. She worked with me through my imposter syndrome, which almost stopped me from applying to this fellowship; which has become such a focal point in my undergraduate experience. She taught me how to hold my own in spaces I didn’t necessarily feel comfortable in. Largely it comes down to the fact that; being able to relate to successful people is an important component of feeling that you can also achieve success.