(Eureka)— 16 local high school students have graduated from a technology exploration program sponsored through the Humboldt County Office of Education (HCOE) and College of the Redwoods (CR). The graduation was the culmination of a three-week summer series of sessions, called the Technology Exploration Summer Institute (TESI).

Coursework took place on the CR main campus. Additional sponsors and field trips sites include: Coast Central Credit Union, Harper Motors, Crestmark Architectural Millworks, Access Humboldt, Dalet Access Labs, HCOE’s Information Technology Department, and IBM.

This was the pilot year for TESI and was modeled after Butte County’s TESI program that was created in 2021.  The program provided the 16 high school students the opportunity to explore career fields in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT).  The students had 7 classroom days learning: Introduction to ICT, IT Concepts and Terminology, Infrastructure, Application and Software, Software Development, Database Fundamentals, and Security; taught by a CR CIS instructor Clay McGlaughlin.  They also visited six different industry partner sites, and were mentored by IBM professionals.

The Technology Exploration Summer Institute allowed students to explore technology careers by talking with industry professionals and visiting worksites. This initiative was the first in what is planned to be an annual event for area high school students to explore computers and technology as a career path.