I’ve been working off and on all day to get our community space set up. This is something I’ve needed for myself for years — a safe place where I can bring my whole self and connect with others like me in tech.
Friends, if you read this, the best way to support me and PopSchools is to join and engage with others in this new community.
Mentors wanted
This is a space specifically for pre-career and early-career technologists but we are starting out with space for mentors who want to support this demographic. In other words, whether you have zero tech experience or decades of it, there is a place for you if you want to participate.
Private groups
Resetting PopSchools has meant honoring my unique perspective, scaling back, and narrowing my focus. We are opening community doors with two protected and private affinity groups specifically for Black Women in Tech and Parents in Tech.
PopSchools, to be clear, doesn’t exclude membership based on race, gender, or any other identity. But today’s PopSchools is loudly and proudly an extension of me. I am tired of seeing my peers rejected and lacking community support. We can use more spaces where we are welcomed and appreciated, the least I can do is carve out that space within the communities I create.
Come as you are, you belong here
This is not a community just for me or people similar to me. I hope to see many more groups form around different tech disciplines and different identities. I want to leave room for the folks in the community to create the space they need to feel safe and included.
See you on the inside?
Nikema ❤️