Ismael Sosa

San Francisco Latino closing the tech gap for underserved young adults

September 23, 2024 By Ismael Sosa

Laptop and Backpack Giveaway to local families

August 2, 2024 By Ismael Sosa

On August 1st, we gathered at The San Francisco Women’s Building for a special laptop and backpack distribution event! Thanks to a generous contribution from AT&T and Human-I-T, we provided 24 refurbished laptops and backpacks filled with school supplies to students and families in need.

This effort was part of AT&T’s mission to bridge the digital divide and equip 20,000 students nationwide. It was incredible to see the impact of community support in action!

Big Heart Award Winner – December 2023

December 12, 2023 By Ismael Sosa

Success Story: Faheemah Shaikh

October 27, 2022 By Ismael Sosa

My name is Faheemah Shaikh from San Francisco. I am a third year computer science student at San Francisco State. I am also heavily involved in the Muslim Student Association on campus. My current role is President and I’ve done many other roles such as the marketing coordinator, treasurer, vice president, etc.

Describe your typical routine at Dev/Mission and why it’s important in your life?
I am the social media intern so I create, film, and edit Reels and TikToks, post stories promoting Dev/Mission, analyze the data from Dev/Missions social media accounts, etc. This is important to me because I want to work for a social media company as a marketing director and Dev/Mission is helping me prepare for that.

What personal goals has Dev/Mission helped you accomplish (or are you pursuing)?
Practice and refresh my coding skills.
Network with people in the tech industry.
Visit multiple tech companies to learn what it’s like to work there.
Come up with creative and unique ideas to market.
Prepare for job interviews.

How has Dev/Mission staff supported you?
Kimon who was an alumni from Dev/Mission referred me to the Social Media Intern position and supported me in obtaining that position.

What three words would you use to describe Dev/Mission if you were trying to convince a friend to get involved?
1- Free
2- Opportunities
3- Community

Has Dev/Mission positively impacted you/your family? If so, how?
Dev/Mission has provided a place for me to grow intellectually. As a third year computer science major, I learned and understood more during Dev/Missions Pre-Apprenticeship program, then I did at school.

How Dev/Mission has helped you to pursue post-secondary or employment pathways?
They provided resources to find internships/jobs and helped me build my confidence! Because of this, I landed an internship at Dev/Mission as their social media intern.

What are you doing now since you Graduated from Dev/Mission?
I am now a third year computer science major at San Francisco State University and the current social media intern for Dev/Mission.

What do you think makes DevMission different from other organizations?
Dev/Mission aims to support the community, no matter their gender, ethnicity, sexuality etc. They offer free tech related programs that young adults can gain various types of knowledge in. They also have educational and exciting in person visits to big tech companies in the bay area.

Volunteer Success Story: Isa Jimenez

September 19, 2022 By Ismael Sosa

What were you doing before joining Dev/Mission as a volunteer? Just my regular full-time job as a Software Engineer at Google.

How long have you been a Dev/Mission volunteer? I’ve been a volunteer for 2 cohorts (~ 6 months)

Describe your typical volunteer routine at Dev/Mission and why it’s important in your life? I volunteer for the Monday IOT class. I try to get in 15 minutes early to help if there’s any setup needed. Then, I’m either teaching the class or a TA that day. If I’m teaching, I spend most of the time presenting about the topic for the day and directing the tasks everyone should be working on. If I’m just TA-ing, then I’ll help organize, pass out circuit materials and then help students with any questions they have as they’re working.

How has the Dev/Mission staff supported you? They’ve made me feel really included in the Dev/Mission family! On top of that, they ensure that we have all the materials we need for our lessons and that the classroom is set up for us to present. They set the volunteers up to succeed as teachers to the students.

What three words would you use to describe Dev/Mission if you were trying to convince a friend/peer to get involved as a volunteer?

1- Rewarding

2- Interesting (I keep learning new things!)

3- A community

Has Dev/Mission positively impacted? If so, how? Yes! I’ve really enjoyed meeting all the students and seeing each one of their own passions and reasons for wanting to lean into the tech industry. Specifically in the IOT class, seeing every student’s project ideas has opened up my creativity to the things that can be done with just arduino computers. Lastly, It makes me really excited and motivated to see the students get excited about tech and consider moving into the space.

What do you think makes Dev/Mission different from other organizations? Dev/Mission creates an opportunity for students to branch into the tech space by not only teaching tech skills, but by also teaching other vital workplace “soft skills” like leadership or communication. These can often be neglected when thinking about how to prepare students for the tech industry (or workplace in general).

What would you say to other volunteers that are planning to join our volunteer program? Having more volunteer voices in the room helps introduce students to new people and hear about different paths into tech (everyone has their own path!). Teaching/TAing can be so rewarding because you’re able to share your skills and experience to help others reach their own goals.