Welcome To Richelle's Homepage
Let Me Tell You A Little Bit About Myself...
Greetings, my name is Richelle Harris and I am nineteen years old. I currently reside in Casa Grande, Arizona. I was born in California, but for the majority of my early years I was raised in Chandler, Arizona. I returned to the bay area to pursue my high school education and now I am back in Arizona for college.
Now Introducing the Class of 2006...
On June 7, 2006, I graduated Magna Cum Laude from Independence High School with the class rank of 48 out of 916 students. I can honestly say that time really does not wait for anyone. During my freshman year I had people tell me to enjoy it because it doesn't last long, but of course I did not believe them. When my senior year finally arrived, I did not have a moment to spare.
The Griot Learning Lab...
As the Executive Director of the Digital Griot Learning Lab, I was a guest speaker at the 2007 Girl's Technology Day. Through partnership with Intel Corporation and the Griot Learning Lab, the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Silicon Valley Chapter, designed a day long even to inspire young ladies to be strong, independent, fearless thinkers, capable of shaping, and reshaping the world around us in the areas of math, science, and technology.
Sports Are The Best Way To Get Involved...
During my senior, I was captain of the Varsity Girls Soccer Team and Varsity Track & Field Team for the jumping events. On the soccer field, I alternated between left forward and sweep. I played for my team and my team played for me. I am so glad that I was able to gain the trust and respect of the girls on my team. During track session, I participated in high jump, pole vault, 4 x 100 meter sprint relay, and 100 meter hurdles. I was honored to compete in the Central Coast Section Semi-Finalists, which is the preliminary competiton for the top performers of each school that successfully reached the state level. I can honestly say I went out with a bang!
Now I play soccer on the ASU college club team...
Youth Can Only Grow Strong In a Strong Community...
For the past three years, I have been a member of the of the Digital Clubhouse Network (DCN), a nonprofit organization with public learning centers in San Jose, California and New York City. The DCN began as a NASA research project in 1996. Since then the Network has received international recognition for its innovative use of digital storytelling as a way to strengthen communities by giving voices to people of all ages, backgrounds, and helping to close the "Digital Divide" between those who have technology access and those who do not. The Network has been honored by the Smithsonian Institution for its "visionary use of information technology to effect positive educational, political, and economic change in society," and was made a part of the Permanent Research Collection of the National Museum of American History in 1999, 2000, and 2001. I hope to continue my involvement with the DCN by teaching others what I have learned long after high school.
Within this program I participate in three projects:
Digitally Abled Producers Project – A youth development program dedicated to empowering youth by teaching them 21st century youth job skills and mobilizing them to apply what they have learned by volunteering in a variety of Service Learning Projects that enrich the quality of life in their community.Stories of Service – An intergenerational program that teams youth with adult volunteers to assist members of the World War II era document their memories in the form of oral histories and short digital videos. The program was developed in partnership with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, national veterans’ organizations, and corporate sponsors so that it can be introduced into communities throughout America. Oral histories produced through the program are submitted to the Library of Congress Veterans History Project, and the digital stories are made available to the Smithsonian, other museums, schools and on the Internet at www.stories-of-service.org.
Digital Griot – A peer-to-peer mentoring program designed to give a voice to the African-American community through technology. It is also a digital storytelling program that documents the history and achievements of African Americans.
In the summer of 2006, as the Executive Youth Producer of the Digital Griot, I had the privilege to train a group of young African-Americans girls and turn them into the ultimate media team. The Digital Griot Girls' Media Team was given press passes to document ZeroOne San Jose: A Global Festival of Art on the Edge & the Thirteenth International Symposium Electronic Art during the week of August 7-13. We were sponsored by Adobe and our short movie, made with Adobe Premiere, was uploaded on the web.
