Alumni Award Winner KaMar Galloway Opens Door to Technology

KaMar Galloway
|
07/31/2019

Thank you, NAF for this incredible honor.  I am grateful to my very good friend Khalia Braswell for nominating me to receive this award. Khalia and I met at a NAF academy when were just 14 years old and I don’t think we ever imagined we’d be where we are today — both working to open doors to technology and friends for life. So please, take a minute, and really look at the people who are here with you tonight.

The work you do, the spaces you define, and the experiences that you’re having are life-changing and life-lasting. Thank you all for your commitment to NAF and its students.

In my own life, I have been blessed with many people, especially my Mom, who have stood by me, encouraging and advising me at pivotal moments in my life. I hope each and every one of you has someone who does that for you in your own life. 

Success, I have found, is rarely, if ever, a solo journey. I discovered a passion for technology at age 13. Today, I get to share that with young students through my work at Google, through CS First, a program that teaches technology and code to students across the globe.    

But there’s another kind of code I’m passionate about — and it’s the code I try to live by

First, I believe in being open to change. I believe in always remembering and appreciating the people who love and support you. And I believe in sharing what you love with who you know.

Change, appreciation, and giving back. These three principles truly give my life meaning and structure. Without these guiding principles, I think the changes in my life would’ve been a lot harder to navigate.

I’m guessing a lot of you have already wrestled with big changes in your lives as well. For me, big change came early and often. I grew up in the Virgin Islands on St. Croix where NBA all-star and MVP Tim Duncan is also from. Life there was simple and good: going to the beach after school, eating sweet plantains. It was friends, fun and NO computers.

My Mom worried that school there wouldn’t be challenging enough for me. So when I was five, she and I left our island home. We lived in several places but the hardest was our move to Charlotte, NC. It was just me and my mom and money was tight.

Sundays after church, we would pick up the Charlotte Observer, a local newspaper. My Mom would clip the grocery coupons while I poured over the latest ads from Best Buy and Circuit City — yes, Circuit City — I’m that old!

But don’t underestimate the power of advertising. I obsessed over those cool gadgets. I saw and dreamed of one day being able to buy something from those pages. Little did I know that our Sunday ritual was igniting an interest in technology. Then all of a sudden, my interests began to change and opportunities began to present themselves. 

In the summer after 8th grade, my Mom and I found out about a new NAF high school, Phillip O. Berry Academy and their IT pathway. To be honest with you, I didn’t even know what software was back then. But I knew I loved playing games and reading tech articles (or Circuit City ads), so I applied and committed myself to Phillip O. Berry High.

My junior year was a really important one. I took my very first programming class, taught by Ms. O’Brien-Dukes. She told me to pursue programming in college.

Me? Programming? In College? 

Honestly, my Mom and I didn’t even know where to start. With help from my guidance counselor, I visited colleges, applied to several with “Tech” in their names and then, thanks to my friend Khalia, I applied to NC State on the last day possible. I loved NC State — Go Wolfpack! And I loved the internships I had during the summers there, from Cisco Systems to GE Healthcare.

During each of those summers, I was exposed to professionals who were not only great teachers but also great people. And I can tell you right now, every student needs an internship — not just because of what you are able to learn, but also because you will meet men and women that want to help you grow in your career. Who doesn’t need that? Who doesn’t want that kind of support?

When I graduated, Google gave me a chance to be a teaching fellow. Together, our young team created CS First, an online program that increases students’ access to computer science education. And let me share with you our secret: We just made something we would have liked as kids and it actually worked! We even partnered with Chance the Rapper to bring computer science to Chicago public schools.  Any thoughts on what we can do in Detroit?

Today, CS First is a flagship Google education program used by more than two million kids in over 40 countries. How cool is it that some of those kids actually live back home in St. Croix?

I am thankful to my Mom every day that she was willing to take a risk, leave the comforts of home, and make changes for me.

Finally, for you students who are in the middle of navigating some tough, but important changes in your own lives, I hope you know how NAF and all of us who have benefitted from NAF, can support you. We have your back — and your future at heart. Thank you, NAF for this award, for my friend Khalia, and for my teacher Mrs. O’Brien-Dukes. Because of you, I live the life I do today.

You are leaving NAF.org

If you choose to click “Continue”, you will be redirected to an external website that is not under NAF’s jurisdiction and may have privacy policies that are different from NAF’s. Would you like to continue?
Search

Fund a Future

Support the dreams of more than 112,000 students nationwide. Your gift provides high school students with equal opportunities for successful tomorrows and contributes to an innovative, highly skilled, and diverse workforce. Give Today!

Donate Now