Bakersfield.com

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Only a few hands went up when Jesse Quintanilla, Director of the Educational Talent Search program at California State University Bakersfield asked the 25 sixth, seventh and eighth graders if they had access to a computer at home. The Computers for Knowledge program (C4K) that the students from the Bakersfield City School District are participating in is designed to remediate that. The students are traveling to the campus for six consecutive Saturdays this spring to learn about using computers for social networking, research and formal communication. Frankie Jollivete, Director of the Information Technology Services Support Center at CSUB put this program together with the support of Dr. Mitchell and the CSUB community. “We wanted to bring inner-city youth to the campus so they can be exposed to a fun learning environment that orients them to college and using computers,” said Jollivete.  
All the coordinators, instructors, and assistance are volunteering their time. “I was one of these students 30 years ago,” says Quintanilla. “Now, I love to make a difference in my community and I want to give these children a chance to understand how they can overcome obstacles and barriers,” adds Quintanilla. Philemon Norris, a CSUB freshman and C4K volunteer taught the blogging session. “ This was a vision for the Black Men on Campus to give back to the community and help youth,” says Norris. 
 The exposure won’t end at the conclusion of the Saturday sessions. “We are setting up satellite computer stations in their neighborhoods so they can have access to the Internet,” Says Jim Ross, retired CSUB professor and C4K volunteer. Refurbished computers from CSUB and the Black Chamber of Commerce will be placed at the Stop The Violence office, the Ebony Counsel and other strategic locations so the students will continue to have access to computers and the Internet. “The amazing thing is that we are doing this with little to no funding. We just need to locate a few more monitors, keyboards and mice,” adds Ross. 
James Sykes of the Ebony Counsel was brushing up on his computer skills as he
worked with his group of students. “I have been working with these kids for many years. This seems like a good opportunity to steer them away from the bad things and fill their time with something educational,” says Sykes. “ I want to come here (CSUB) after I graduate and learn about computers so I can help my friends that are younger,” says Benczeon Jones, a 7th grader at Compton Middle School. “I want them to take a good path and I want to be a good person,” adds Jones. “I was picked and wanted to take advantage of a new thing to learn,” says Julia Lyle, a sixth grader at Curran Middle School. Julia wants to be a preschool or kindergarten teacher when she is grown.