Mentees Wanted

I know it has been a long time since I posted to this blog. Basically, I have been working on other things, most notably my sports analytics and prediction site, Snoozle Sports, and my wife's business, Desert Rose Designs.

I will be teaching CSCV 471: Introduction to Artificial Intelligence and INFV 301: Introduction to Informatics at the University of Arizona this spring and I will post some of my notes and lectures on this site, if you are interested in following along. Looking at my class enrollment, most of the students in the class, while I believe deserving to be there, were men with apparent northern European last names. I have wanted to see more women and underrepresented minority groups in my classes since I first started taking computer science classes in college in 1998, almost twenty years ago. 

There has been complains about the lack of diversity for as long as I have I been in tech. Not only does a better gender and ethnic diversity promotes equality, it also gives a competitive advantage to the companies because it increases the employee and customer networks for an tech institution.

While I have encourage many of my classmates, co-workers, and students that are struggling in their programs, but I feel I can do more. While I am a white male, I want to be a more active ally to people that are interested in a career in the tech industry, especially ones from disadvantaged groups. I asked myself what else I can do, and I want to mentor 2 or 3 people.

I'll be reaching out to my students, but if you or someone you know that lives in the Tucson area, are interested in becoming a software developer or a related field, please contact me via DM on twitter, @gmwagner. I ask of the mentee to meet with me every month where we will initially set goals, then subsequent meetings we will discuss the progress toward those goals. Also, if the mentee needs help with classes or finding work, I will work with them on that as well. I ask the mentees as they matriculate and start their careers they mentor people as well.

What I will get out of it? A network people that will keep me (or make me) up to date on the current trends and a network of potential employees when I start my own company.