WASHINGTON — The DMV is filled with millennials doing fantastic work throughout the community. These individuals help uplift, empower, and educate the youth. One of those people is David Street.
Street is the Executive Director of P.E.N DMV. A nonprofit organization specializing in mentoring and social media training for middle and high school students living in Washington, DC. His goal with P.E.N’s social media training is to make the youth confident and aware that what they post could have serious consequences.
"Letting them know that if you’re trying to get into college, they will look at your profile. Jobs look at your profiles. People have been fired for things that they’ve tweeted,” Street said.
In addition to mentorship programs, P.E.N holds different types of career-based summits for the youth. P.E.N partnered with Meta DC again this year to host a career fair. The career fair is scheduled for Friday, May 13, at Phelps Senior High School in D.C. from 10:20 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. Street hopes that this event will inspire the youth and inform them of the different avenues they can explore throughout the tech industry.
“We need Black engineers, we need Black lawyers, we need accountants…the whole nine. We’re bringing together students so they can listen and learn from the Black people who are pushing Meta to new heights.”
Street says this kind of information is vital for young people to learn early on. Most Black and Brown families don’t have the resources or connections to get inside information from the people that work in these industries, Street says. Events like this help broaden the youth’s spectrum to the various careers available.
“[Students] are going to hear from various departments within Meta, about how these individuals got there, what inspired them when they were sitting in their seats, to want to pursue these various careers. How did they land in Meta. What have been some of the challenges at Meta.
The time to register for the career panel event has closed to the public. But it is still open to Phelps Senior High School students and the youth who live in the surrounding area. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the event will be held at the school’s library instead of Meta’s Downtown D.C. office.
For those who cannot attend Friday’s career fair, P.E.N is coordinating an ‘end-of-the-year event with their partnering schools. Check out their Instagram @pendmv for updates on that. Also, if you’re a student at P.E.N’s partnering school you can sign up for the mentorship program through your school.
Street’s goal is to have rising juniors and seniors peer mentor the incoming freshman and sophomore classes to instill accountability.