BFOIT AND AFTER: IEOR sophomore Kathy Phan (center) participated in the Berkeley Foundation for Opportunities in Information Technology (BFOIT) program while in high school and said it helped her get into Cal. Now she spends her summers teaching in the same program.

Engineers teach in nonprofit program to help underrepresented kids choose engineering

IEOR sophomore and EECS minor Kathy Phan knew she wanted to be an engineer since she was a little girl. Growing up in Silicon Valley with two parents in the technology biz, her destiny seemed assured. Still, as a woman, she felt she needed a competitive edge in a tough, male-dominated profession. In her junior year of high school, she applied to the Berkeley Foundation for Opportunities in Information Technology (BFOIT) program, a nonprofit summer intensive program that encourages underrepresented high school students to go to college and pursue careers in computer science and engineering.

“BFOIT helped me get into Berkeley and I really enjoyed the program,” Phan says. She had such a good experience she came back the summer after her freshman year, this time as a volunteer programming instructor.

While BFOIT isn’t affiliated with the College of Engineering, its inception five years ago was sparked by EECS professors David Forsyth and Jerry Feldman and alum Paula Hawthorn as an outreach effort. The College of Engineering also donates classroom space and resources to help make the program free for students.

Last summer, three engineering students and one alum worked as instructors, including cognitive science senior and EECS minor, Peter Khooshabeh, Phan, EECS sophomore Justin Virrey and CEE masters’ graduate Ayodele Harrison.

“The idea of college students teaching is very important. They are great role models for the high school students because they represent the eventual goal,” says BFOIT Director Orpheus Crutchfield.

Khooshabeh says he cherishes the mentoring aspect of teaching, but also considers the experience academically valuable because nothing deepens one’s understanding of material like teaching it.

Phan’s payoff is knowing that she is carving a path for young girls like herself to follow.

“I try to let them know what they are getting themselves into and encourage them to choose that path anyway,” she laughs.

Every year about five new students are chosen from a pool of about 65 applicants. The class size is 25, made up of new and returning students.

Once accepted students return every summer until they finish high school. Each summer they spend two weeks learning basic programming by creating a computer video game or similar project.

To qualify for the program students must have parental support, be underrepresented minorities or women, demonstrate a love of learning, be highly motivated, and have taken algebra.

BFOIT’s support continues into the school year with monthly meetings and college counseling. They help students get into top schools and secure scholarships with coaching and writing letters on the students’ behalf. So far six BFOIT students have been accepted to Berkeley’s College of Engineering.

According to Khooshabeh, the summer program only has one drawback: it’s too short.

“It’s frustrating to squeeze what you love into two weeks. A month or a summer would be better.”

For more information on BFOIT or to volunteer go to www.bfoit.org.

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