Seagate Hosts Native American Youth Conference

Seagate Hosts Native American Youth Conference

Seagate Technology hosted the third annual American Indian Youth Leadership Institute (AIYLI) Conference at its Longmont campus on Friday, April 28. More than 75 Native American middle and high school students, faculty and sponsors from the Boulder Valley School District attended the event, which focused on the theme “Changing Directions – Claiming Our Future.”

Keynote speaker Jodi Rave, a national news correspondent with the Davenport, Iowa-based publisher Lee Enterprises, focused on issues and trends in media coverage of Native Americans. And experts led workshops on health issues facing Native Americans, education and intertribal identity. “We were pleased to be able to host this event, as it supports one of our key corporate diversity objectives, to make educational opportunities available to minority students in our community, while building awareness among these groups of the many career opportunities at Seagate,” said the company’s Executive Director of Engineering Gary Hamilton.

A Native American of the Cherokee tribe and a Corporate Advisory Council member of the American Indian Science and Engineering Society, Hamilton has made it his personal mission to encourage Native American youth to pursue degrees in science and technology. “It’s a matter of having role models and mentors who can help pave the way,” he said. “I want to be sure the educational opportunities are identified, and the support structure is available for those who choose this path.”

Read the complete Press Release