AT&T's Hispanic/Latino Association Inspires Teenagers to Pursue Careers in Science and Engineering With National High Technology Day

USA - English

• Latin America - español

ATLANTA, Feb. 21, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- AT&T* and HACEMOS – AT&T's Hispanic/Latino Association – announced today the return of its annual HACEMOS National High Technology Day on February 23, 2012. HACEMOS National High Tech Day is an annual event that engages teenage students in hands-on technical activities and interactive workshops to inspire them to consider careers in science and technology.

In its 14th year, HACEMOS National High Tech Day aims to reach and inspire more than 1,800 teens and at-risk high school students in 28 cities across the country through collaboration with the AT&T/Junior Achievement (JA) Worldwide Job Shadow Initiative, which is a part of AT&T Aspire –a $100 million philanthropic commitment to improve high school success.

HACEMOS National High Technology Day is designed to give students insight into the many opportunities available in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields—areas where people of color have been historically underrepresented. The sessions and job shadow opportunities will give students close access to AT&T employees and help them experience a corporate environment firsthand.

"We're thrilled to once again offer our future leaders real-world insight and guidance by offering them full access to our company's senior leaders, employees, and program speakers," said Delia Hernandez, national president of HACEMOS, the Hispanic/Latino Association of AT&T.  "Careers in science and engineering are extremely rewarding and we hope to spark our participants' interest in these fields."

Teens will also tour AT&T facilities, participate in technical demonstrations and workshops including intensive Arduino training, attend an interactive National Webcast, and participate in hands-on activities to learn about careers in technology.

The theme for this year's National High Tech Day is Transform Your Future, a clear reflection on AT&T's longstanding commitment to transforming the future of individuals and businesses through continued network investment and innovation. As the wireless carrier that leads the way in the creation of emerging products and technologies, we strive to train and inspire our very best future employees. By helping transform the future of these young students, we're also helping meet our bottom line and fulfill our commitment to be an innovative company.

In addition to the interactive workshops, students will be able to connect with thousands of other high schools using AT&T Telepresence Solution®, an advanced, high definition videoconferencing service that gives the participant a virtual, face-to-face meeting experience with people across the country and the globe. Each student group will be able to virtually interact with other participating students in other cities as if they were in the same room with them.

HACEMOS National High Tech Day will broadcast a National Webcast featuring CoolSpeak –The Youth Engagement Company – both with a live audience and via webcast with over 25 chapters expected to tune in. CoolSpeak presentations will be held from Dallas, Texas, and Chicago, Ill. HACEMOS chapters will also feature presentations by various AT&T leaders, including Paul La Schiazza, President-Illinois; Carmen Nava, Senior VP-Customer Information Services; Jose Gutierrez, President and CEO, Advertising Solutions; and Ralph de la Vega, president and CEO, AT&T Mobility.

This year's event will link nearly 1,800 high school students from close to 65 schools in:

• Atlanta, Georgia
• Austin, Texas
• Charlotte, North Carolina
• Chicago, Illinois
• Dallas, Texas
• Florham Park, New Jersey
• Fresno, California
• Ft. Worth, Texas
• Houston, Texas
• Joplin, Missouri
• Kansas City, Missouri
• Lake Mary, Florida
• Los Angeles, California
• Mesa, Arizona
• Middletown, New Jersey
• Nashville, Tennessee
• New Haven, Connecticut
• Norman, Oklahoma
• Orange County, California
• Orlando, Florida
• Phoenix, Arizona
• Sacramento, California
• San Antonio, Texas
• San Diego, California
• San Ramon, California
• St. Louis, Missouri
• Southfield, Michigan
• Tampa, Florida
• Washington, D.C.

Through the AT&T/JA Worldwide Job Shadow Initiative, a $5.5 million commitment, AT&T will provide job shadow opportunities for 100,000 students across the United States over five years and is on target to reach that goal in March 2012. Since the initiative started in 2008, more than 95,000 students have participated in 216 cities. AT&T employees have volunteered more than 32,000 times for Job Shadow, dedicating more than 260,000 volunteer hours, to help students learn.

AT&T's Hispanic/Latino Association HACEMOS, with approximately 2,000 members, recognizes the importance of educating Hispanic youth and preparing them for a technology-intensive future. Its members are dedicated to developing and supporting technology education projects in communities where they live and work. For more information about National High Technology Day, please visit HACEMOS.

AT&T is deeply committed to the Hispanic community and organizations that support education and community vitality. For more information please visit espanol.att.com. 

*AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.

About Junior Achievement

Junior Achievement is the world's largest organization dedicated to inspiring and preparing young people to succeed in a global economy. Through a dedicated volunteer network, Junior Achievement provides in-school and after-school programs for students which focus on three key content areas: work readiness, entrepreneurship, and financial literacy. Today, 126 individual area operations reach four million students in the United States, with an additional 5.8 million students served by operations in 123 other countries worldwide. For more information, visit www.ja.org.

About AT&T

AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) is a premier communications holding company and one of the most honored companies in the world. Its subsidiaries and affiliates – AT&T operating companies – are the providers of AT&T services in the United States and around the world. With a powerful array of network resources that includes the nation's fastest mobile broadband network, AT&T is a leading provider of wireless, Wi-Fi, high speed Internet, voice and cloud-based services. A leader in mobile broadband and emerging 4G capabilities, AT&T also offers the best wireless coverage worldwide of any U.S. carrier, offering the most wireless phones that work in the most countries.  It also offers advanced TV services under the AT&T U-verse® and AT&T | DIRECTV brands. The company's suite of IP-based business communications services is one of the most advanced in the world. In domestic markets, AT&T Advertising Solutions and AT&T Interactive are known for their leadership in local search and advertising. 

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SOURCE AT&T Inc.