TechLink - Oakland Public Education Fund

About the TechLink Program

Techlink is a mentorship and a paid summer fellowship for high school sophomores, juniors and seniors in the computer science and engineering pathways at four high schools in Oakland. The program targets students of color and girls, who are underrepresented in tech, in an effort to expand the opportunities available to our youth and increase the diversity of the tech industry.

Goals for TechLink Student Participants:

Complete the Computer Academy or Engineering Pathway and graduate on time.
Receive support from a TechLink Mentor.
Come away with a broader understanding of STEM careers available to them.
Pursue a post-secondary education or career in STEM.

Students participated in the Mentorship Program

Students participated in the Summer Fellowship Program

Increase enrollment of underrepresented students in CS and Engineering Academies

Video: TechLink 2022

Intel Fueled Techlink

Intel’s 5-year investment began in 2015 and brought impactful programming to Oakland Tech High School and McClymonds High School to promote STEM to underrepresented students in the tech industry.

Building on the successes of the 5-year Intel partnership, the TechLink program expands the mentorship and summer fellowship programs across more OUSD high schools.

Learn more about the Program

Mentorship Program - Become a Mentor Today!

The TechLink Mentorship program connects high school students with career coaches/mentors one-on-one for 13 weeks to develop their college and career plans while building their network during the school year.

Summer Fellowship

The Summer Fellowship is a paid program that allows students to gain exposure to the corporate environment in tech and build technical skills while participating in a social technical curriculum. Students also participate in a financial literacy curriculum to support them in building their financial management skills.

Participating Schools

Program Participant Testimonials:

“I think the general meetings worked really well to connect me with my mentor! It was great to have some professional zoom interaction and guidance to the tech industry as well as post BA college life. I generally enjoyed a bunch of my conversations and the program directors did a great job checking in with students on a timely manner.”

“My mentor was amazing! She helped me with my college and career goals with getting started on creating a spreadsheet with a list of colleges, scholarships, and helping me with building my resume! This mentorship program was very helpful in getting me started to become an adult and seeing how my mentor was able to succeed in their career! Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity!”

"Something that worked well about the mentorship program was that I was able to connect with my mentor and she helped me prepare for college as well guided me to my college and career goals, which is super helpful. Before I joined this program, I did not feel as much prepared for college as I do now. The mentorship program gave me a better understand on new opportunities and what I should be doing this year in preparation for college applications."

“I liked learning new things for this experience. The things I learned are not discussed often enough at school such as the issues technology face.”

“What I like most about my experience was learning more about the programming language python. I was not familiar with python in the beginning of this program, so getting to learn python was something I really liked about my experience.”

"I liked learning about about sociotechnical issues, financial literacy, and having Intel speakers join us.”