Teenagers may be surrounded by technology, but they often ask themselves whether it will really change their future for the better. Madison Johnson, a rising sophomore at Atkins Academic & Technology High School, says that question crosses her mind when she thinks about getting a job one day.
“It seems like it’s slowly taking over jobs,” she says. “You’ve all noticed the stores with self-checkouts now. That took some people’s jobs. And I think about how AI is integrating into the workforce.”
Michael McNamara, a Wheatmore High School 10th grader whose father works in coding, has a more positive mindset. “I feel like tech is never really going take anyone’s jobs, but I feel like it’s going to change jobs for either the better or the worse, and I think it’s how people can adapt.”
Both hoped to gain a better understanding by seeing technology in action. They got that at the Technovation for Good (Tech4Good) summer camp at UNC Greensboro.
Tech Gets to Work
Tech4Good sprang to life thanks to Dr. Lakshmi Iyer. She led it while at Appalachian State and brought it to UNCG when she returned to become chair of the Department of Information Systems and Supply Chain Management (ISSCM). She says, “This program offers students an opportunity to learn entrepreneurial and leadership skill sets, hear from local professionals, meet other students with similar career interests, and attend workshops to enhance IT and business skills in a college setting.”
In day-to-day life, students sometimes see technology portrayed in a bad light. McNamara may hold an optimistic view of tech’s potential, but he’s seen it introduce new challenges into his classrooms. “Knowing what it can do is concerning, as a student growing up with AI,” he says. “Teachers have a strong push against it. They’ll fail you if they even think AI was used for your project.”
Emmaline Jones, an 11th grader at Salem Baptist Christian, says she also hears a lot of misconceptions. “The AI we have now can’t learn ahead,” she says. “But I’ve heard: ‘It’s going to evolve overnight! My phone’s going to be ruling the world!'”
Dispelling myths and emphasizing technology savviness as a résumé builder makes the UNCG Bryan School of Business and Economics the perfect host for Tech4Good. Dean Dr. Joy Bhadury impressed that mindset upon the campers during the closing ceremony. “AI won’t take your jobs,” he declared. “But I will tell you who will take your jobs: it will be somebody who knows how to use AI in that field.”
City and Campus Tours
There’s a lot of ground to cover in a 10-day camp – artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, programming, and more – but its leaders want to give high schoolers a general framework they can build upon later. “Technology is more of a fragmented ecosystem than just one thing,” says Anirudh Arunprasad, who helped teach students how to program using Python. “This camp, by showing them all the technology that’s out there, means that wherever they go, they can grow.”
The camp also involved other divisions at UNCG. Students went to the School of Nursing’s simulation center SCENE to see the high-fidelity manikins that mimic real-life symptoms. They talked with UNCG police officers about how to stay safe online. Accounting and finance faculty contributed lessons in financial literacy. Doctoral students from information systems fields led the tech sessions.
“We showed them the different fields they can explore and how technology can be used in that field,” says Tech4Good Program Coordinator Poornima Patil. “We want them to know they have many options.”
Local companies and nonprofits joined in the fun. A trip to the agriculture manufacturer Syngenta, where they got a drone show-and-tell and a chromatography demonstration was a favorite among campers. They also loved touring Forge Greensboro, a makerspace and machine shop for local artists and crafters to work and use high-tech equipment such as glass engravers and 3-D printers. Furthermore, Tech4Good is sponsored by Alex Lee, Inc. and other local partners.
Return on Investment
There’s another myth that UNCG dispels during Tech4Good: that technology is isolating. The camp’s success can be measured by how many former participants return as volunteers. Arunprasad, who is starting at NC State this year, attended last year’s camp as a high school senior. He returned this year as a session leader. Ashley Mejia participated in 2023 and was also happy to come back to Tech4Good as a residential leader.
“It’s not an opportunity every student gets,” she says. “When I was here, I was thinking, ‘Do I want to go into the tech field?’ Now I’m helping more students feel comfortable with that decision.”
The high school students agree that the things they learned will be valuable in their day-to-day lives. On the last day, they gave presentations in one of four fields: generative AI, cybersecurity, data analytics, and programming with Python. Jones was on the cybersecurity team. She says, “I feel like I now know what’s behind me logging into some website, where my information is going. And now I have some peace of mind.”
McNamara’s group built an AI that gives financial advice. They even programmed it to answer in different voices such as William Shakespeare or Zendaya. “I thought I always knew what AI could do,” he says. “But this took me deeper into how it can be applied.”
Johnson says it will help her when she returns to school in the fall. “When I saw this camp, I was like, ‘Oh, like, technology, science, math is all up my alley,'” she says. “My high school is very technology-led. I wanted to get a better understanding of technology. And I do feel I got that by going to this camp.”
Story by Janet Imrick, University Communications
Photography by Sean Norona, University Communications; and courtesy of Dr. Lakshmi Iyer, Department of Information Systems and Supply Chain Management
