In The News
August 5, 2001
BostonWorks
Executive leads camp to help youth build interest in technology
Paul Deninger has his own way of bridging
the digital divide.
This summer, Deninger, the 43-year-old chief
executive of Broadview Holdings, a private investment firm
that focuses on technology, introduced 100 middle-school students
from disadvantaged neighborhoods in New York and Boston to
computers.
The goal of the summer camp program, called
WiredWoods, is to foster a lifelong interest in technology
that could one day lead to careers in an industry that continues
to project a short-fall of information technology specialists.
"I want to get children at an early
age," said Deninger. "Most of the digital divide
activities have focused on giving away computers as opposed
to fostering a desire and interest in working with computers.
Right now, there are computers at most libraries and community
centers, but are kids using them? Not if they are simply there
to provide remedial work… I also want kids to consider
the fact that a computer can lead to a career."
Despite massive layoffs among high-tech manufacturers,
industry specialists say there is still a need for skilled
computer engineers, software engineers, and other information
technology specialists. In fact, the Information Technology
Association of America, a national association of 11,000 technology
companies, maintains that there are more than 400,000 openings
for such specialists throughout the country.
One reason for the shortfall: Colleges and
universities are not producing enough graduates to meet demand.
In the1980s, for example, 50,000 new computers science graduates
entered the market annually. By 1995, however, that number
had plunged to 24,000.
Deninger, who spent the first seven years
of his life in a modest neighborhood in Lowell, said he was
partly motivated by a desire to help disadvantaged youths.
Currently, the program is being offered at CrossRoads, a Duxbury
summer camp for inner city youths. However, Deninger is hoping
that it will expand to include other overnight camps for middle
school children.
During their stay at camp, children learn
how to digitize photographs and modify them, how to digitize
their own voices, and are taught simple animation. "They
can create and animate a relatively simple Web site,"
Deninger said. "They can also work with new ideas and
use the computer to design something they can call their own
and be proud of."
The camp, which began in July and ends in
August, gives each student a packet of information, indicating
the neighborhood or community organizations where they can
pursue their interest in computers.
Diane E. Lewis
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