As the saying goes, “To be inspired is great, but to inspire is an honor.”
Anchored by a desire to lift others higher, Comcast Utah leaders are honored to empower young women to tap into their talent and become unstoppable leaders of tomorrow.
That’s why they’ve invested significantly into Utah’s SheTech Explorer initiative, a technology program designed to provide girls across Utah with hands-on tech experiences. Simply put, the program encourages school-age girls to seek careers in science, technology, engineering and math.
As part of SheTech’s Explorer initiative, Billi Carpenter and Karin Rauser – both longtime Comcast install technician supervisors – highlight the day in the life of a female tech leader.
“SheTech gives young women a vision to explore STEM fields and meet other women who love it, too,” said Carpenter. “The ultimate goal is to encourage high school girls to find the fun behind science and to help make the world a better place.
In Utah alone – over the last three years – Comcast NBCUniversal Foundation and NBCUniversal invested more than $4.3 million to 108 non-profits including pandemic relief efforts valued at over $390,000.
There are many opportunities that may not “traditional,” but are exhilarating and you can be good at. Folks just have to know opportunities are out there and then go explore them,” said Rauser. “I love where I’m at and what I do. Although, had I not landed within Comcast – a company that encourages growth and movement – I don’t know if I would have known about them. Don’t put yourself in a box just because of traditional roles.
With monthly events and mentoring opportunities for young women, SheTech helps girls recognize STEM career options and discover how their dreams can be realized in tech, including student leadership, digital inclusion projects and becoming a SheTech coder.
“Supporting mentoring programs is one of Comcast’s high priorities,” said Ioana Platon, external affairs specialist, Comcast. “We’re proud to help our community through mentoring, and we know when we all work together, we can more effectively address today’s pressing needs.”
Comcast Utah was highlighted nationally as part of Comcast running the nation’s largest workplace mentoring program in partnership with Big Brothers Big Sisters of America.
“Our work with the Utah Beyond School Walls program began in 2009, where we followed the same group of students until they graduated from elementary school,” said Platon. “Involvement like this allows our teams to commit, invest and pay it forward with skills, guidance and even a listening ear for those in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program.”
That steadfast commitment has helped families and individuals stay connected to achieve higher aspirations.
“The best thing is that from partnerships with organizations such as Big Brothers Big Sisters, City Year, and STEM education and technology training with Black Girls Code, we have a long history of deep community engagement. And we’re not stopping there,” Platon said. “We’re honored to help many K–12 students with internet or mobile hotspots, computers or tablets for the virtual start of the next school year. Plus, we are ready to provide skill training and tech support for students, families and teachers.”
Connecting Utahns to more of what they love is a core value of Comcast, whose teams work every day to ensure they are delivering on that promise.
“When we’re so heavily invested in communities we serve, we are also better attuned to partnering with our local elected officials, non-profit and educational partners across the state to support our communities and build digital equity,” Platon said. “We’ve proudly invested over $650 million toward closing the digital divide.
As our most successful program in America, Comcast’s Internet Essentials program connects 160,000 Utahns to low-cost internet, now with increased speeds to support today’s online learning and beyond.
For more information on our community impact programs, click here.
