City of Sacramento
“We’re sowing the
seed that, ‘Hey,
you don’t have to
go too far to get a
really high-paying
job right here in
Sacramento.’”
-NAVNEE T GRE WAL, CEO,
YELLOW CIRCLE
104
comstocksmag.com | May 201 9
tion has its own purpose and vision, they
share the goal of creating a competitive
future workforce. RAILS program manager
Aubree J. Taylor says, “We wanted training
programs to be focused on [science, tech-
nology, engineering and math] and entre-
preneurship being able to give people the
tools to find or create jobs that are going to
be more technical or higher-paying jobs.”
Two-time RAILS recipient Yellow Circle
received $49,920 in 2018 for its cyber se-
curity boot camps for youth ages 12-17. The
nonprofit is a virtual classroom that pro-
vides students with hands-on experience
in building web servers, cloud computing
and developing practical IT skills, and CEO
Navneet Grewal says it has served more
than 100,000 students globally since its
founding four years ago.
Early on, Yellow Circle benefited from
sponsorships from Google and Microsoft,
but Grewal quickly recognized the need to
localize its efforts and hone in on Sacra-
mento students who needed IT education.
With its RAILS grant, Yellow Circle is intent
on preparing Sacramento’s underserved
youth for careers in technology. “We are
mostly focused on workforce development,
new technologies like ride-sharing, and very
focused on cyber security,” Grewal says.
The cyber-security focus hinges on
a gap in the marketplace. “There’s a void
that’s being created because we don’t have
enough talent to fill all the tech jobs that are
going to come up,” Grewal says. To fill that
need, Yellow Circle’s end-of-2019 goal is
to reach 1,000 kids to spark an interest in
cyber security and ultimately see them en-
roll in technology programs at Sacramento
State or UC Davis.
Exposing students to clear career paths
in growing industries is almost as import-
ant as teaching the skills themselves. “The
barrier to entry isn’t as high as people think
it is for cyber security, which is definitely a
growing industry,” Taylor says. “But [cyber
security] is not something that everyone’s
exposed to or thinking about as a career.
If everyone knew how accessible it was,
they’d be out making six figures with all
these cyber security professionals.”
The key to connecting with their schol-
ars is being relatable, says Nicholas Hay-
stings, executive director of Square Root
Academy, an organization that provides
STEM-based experiences and education to
youth in underserved areas of Sacramento.
Square Root received $150,000 from RAILS
in 2018. “Because I’m from the community
[of Meadowview], I understand that popu-
lation, and culturally, we reflect one anoth-
er,” he says. “[The RAILS grant] is allowing
people to be taught from the community by
the community.”
Kate Hazarian, vice principal of Greer
Elementary and a partner of Square Root
Academy, agrees. “Our scholars get to see
young adults, all [either] in college or college
graduates, who look like them and are pursu-
ing careers in science,” she says. “We have
students who give up playing during lunch
recess on Wednesdays just so they can go
to Square Root for the science experiments.”
Location is also crucial to students’
comfort level and participation, Grewal
says. Yellow Circle takes its boot camps
to where the youth are. “We’re hosting the
camps where it’s almost home to them,” he
says. “We’re going to each community and
doing a camp in their neighborhood, where
they’re comfortable to come out.”
So where can these budding scientists,
technologists and engineers land in the long
run? Part of the goal for the STEM-focused
RAILS programs is to familiarize kids with
the career opportunities available in Sacra-
mento. “We’re sowing the seed that, ‘Hey,
you don’t have to go too far to get a really
high-paying job right here in Sacramento,’”
Grewal says. Organizations like Intel, UC
Davis and the State of California have an
increasing need for coders, researchers and
technicians. “To be able to encourage peo-
ple building their own companies and their
own tech [with] those STEM skill sets, we
want to keep those people and jobs in Sac-
ramento,” Taylor says.
Haystings adds that large companies
with the potential to move to Sacramento
require a workforce with the proper skills.
“In order for Sacramento to attract the huge
companies,” he says, “it needs to start now
with educating and investing in our youth so
they have the skills to matriculate into these
companies.” n
Vanessa Labi is a freelance contributor to
Comstock’s magazine. She earned her B.S.
in English at UCLA. Vanessa specializes in cul-
ture, arts, lifestyle and personal essays.