MOUNT VERNON, NY — Environmental Leaders of Color (ELOC) is once again giving local high school students an opportunity to build the technology skills they will need for college, careers and an increasingly digital economy. This fall, ELOC will offer free Saturday computer classes for high school students at SUNY Westchester Community College’s Mount Vernon location.
Classes will be held Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. to 12 noon, beginning October 3 and continuing through December, with a graduation scheduled for December 12. The program will take place at SUNY Westchester Community College, 17 South 5th Avenue in Mount Vernon.
The program builds on ELOC’s continuing effort to make advanced technology education accessible to young people, particularly students from communities that have historically had fewer opportunities to participate in specialized computer and technology programs.
Preparing Students for the Age of Artificial Intelligence
This year’s program will place an increased emphasis on Artificial Intelligence instruction, giving students practical experience with a technology that is rapidly changing education and the workplace.
Students will learn computer basics, Microsoft Office applications including Word, Excel and PowerPoint, internet research, typing and productivity skills, résumé and career preparation, and the use of AI tools.
The AI component will introduce students to ways artificial intelligence can be used responsibly for homework and research, writing assistance, résumé and career support, digital creativity and other practical applications.
The goal is not simply to teach young people how to use a computer. It is to help them understand how emerging technology can become a tool for education, creativity, problem-solving and future economic opportunity.
ELOC has already demonstrated what young people can accomplish when given access to advanced technology education. Previous students in the organization’s Technology and the Environment program have learned skills including Python coding and developed their own projects. Mount Vernon City School District reported that students graduating from ELOC’s 2024 program used Python to create online games from scratch.
ELOC’s technology programming has since expanded into areas including data management, cybersecurity, coding, blockchain, artificial intelligence and robotics, according to information about the organization presented by the Westchester County Board of Legislators.
Building on ELOC’s Success
The upcoming fall classes follow another successful year for ELOC.
In August, Black Westchester covered ELOC’s 2026 Student Summer Program Showcase and Graduation, continuing the organization’s work of exposing young people to environmental education, technology and career opportunities.
ELOC’s computer program has also shown that students can move beyond simply learning about technology and begin creating with it. At the organization’s 2025 graduation, students presented projects demonstrating practical applications of artificial intelligence while building on previous instruction in areas including Python, R and cybersecurity.
That type of exposure matters. Young people are entering a world where understanding AI and digital technology will increasingly be part of being competitive in college and the workforce. Programs like ELOC’s can help ensure that students from Mount Vernon and surrounding communities are not merely consumers of the next generation of technology, but are prepared to become its programmers, creators, entrepreneurs and innovators.
Registration Information
The FREE Computer Classes for High School Students will meet Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. to noon on October 3, 10, 17, 24 and 31; November 7, 14 and 21; and December 5, followed by the program graduation on December 12.
Classes will be held at SUNY Westchester Community College, 17 South 5th Avenue, Mount Vernon, NY 10550.
Students and parents interested in registering can use the QR code provided on the ELOC program flyer. For additional information, contact Marvin Church at 914-901-3562 ext. 702 or contactus@eloc.earth.
For families looking for opportunities that can give their children practical skills for the future, this is more than another Saturday program. It is an opportunity for high school students to gain hands-on exposure to the technology that is already reshaping the world around them.
The classes are free. The skills can last a lifetime.
