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CST 361S - Week 1

My Service Project

As April ended, May began and the vestiges of my Java software design class faded away in the horizon, I began my service project with Computers 2 SD Kids.

Computers 2 SD Kids, or C2SDK for short, is a nonprofit organization that refurbishes and tests donated computers (desktops, laptops, and tablets) for kids from low income families to use for education. When I first found out about them, I thought it was a great cause and got in contact with the lead volunteer coordinator right away, and I've completed five hours of work so far helping out. I think it is because of part of me loves building desktop computers, and the other part really empathizes with these kids because I received my very first desktop computer in a similar fashion. Granted, I didn't come from a low income background, but the fact that a generous donor was kind enough to clean and refurbish that desktop computer for me always stuck with me even as I've gotten older and can afford all sorts of technology on my own working full time (Disclaimer: I am single and have no kids. Those two things help when it comes to being able to afford cool stuff you want without any financial repercussions). 

Class Privilege
Growing up as a minority has always made me aware of class privilege in some way. Although I am lucky enough to have also grown up in a time and place where I wasn't a victim of genocide or racial oppression, I can understand how issues like race, gender, and class privilege are still very much issues today, even if they aren't as extreme as the two examples I just mentioned. The most important thing I learned about the reading this week was how much race could dictate people's careers, and reading through some of my classmates' responses a couple of them felt the same way I did, and especially how I felt after choosing my current career path.


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