WATSONVILLE — Thanks to a cast of workers and volunteers at Watsonville’s Digital NEST, more than 200 local high school and college students were able to get a close brush with some of the giants in the tech industry in the first-ever NEST Flight.
The one-day forum Saturday, which featured lectures, discussion groups and one-on-one chats, spread out over five venues in downtown Watsonville, including the Mello Center, the Youth Center and the Veterans Memorial Hall on East Beach Street.
“This has been two years in the works,” said Digital NEST founder Jacob Martinez. “We hope today serves as a channel for our youths to connect and perhaps get that internship or even a job. We have people from Amazon, GitHub, Survey Monkey, IBM, Plantronics, Looker, Facebook, LinkedIn and other companies here today to learn of the talented youth in the Pajaro Valley. The talent is here; these youths have what it takes; and they’re eager to get involved in the tech industry.”
Martinez said scads of tech industry companies have shown interest in local talent but making the connection is often the missing link.
“There is a top pool of talent here,” Martinez said. “At the Digital NEST we are big believers of the youth in the Pajaro Valley. Our commitment is to give them the access to these careers; the jobs are out there. Today could be the start for some of these kids to begin networking with professionals who can offer them a good living both here and in the Silicon Valley.”
Omi Chandiramani, senior managing engineer at Amazon, who moved into his position from Google, said he felt the event was a great way for youth to connect with a wealth of promising careers.
“This is an opportunity to develop clear thoughts with the next phase of what to do with their careers,” he said. “It is a great way for kids to start building that roadmap.”
