PLAYTIME Inc. Intern Udie Chima gives TAF Graduation Speech

"I'm not here to make a living, I'm here to make a difference" -Helice Bridges http://www.blueribbons.com.

Udie Chima was PLAYTIME Inc's first intern. Last year he produced the video you now see as our geoteaming promotional video. Udie's love of computers and music was a big help last summer. I was honored to find out that Udie was selected to give the Technology Access Foundation http://www.techaccess.org graduation speech. I'm very proud of Udie because he was also accepted to Oberlin College! Here's his speech, I hope you enjoy it.

-John

TAF GRADUATION SPEECH
It may sound arrogant, but because of TTIP I’ve got it made. I could have so easily been in the situation of my other friends. High school graduates not sure where they’re going to find a summer job, spending too much time around the house, and probably getting on their parents’ nerves.
My story is typical of any TAF graduate, but the things we have achieved may sound extraordinary to others. This Monday I begin my internship at the Boeing Employee Credit Union, and this fall I will be attending Oberlin College.
CLASS
Any TTIP student will tell you that class is no joke. They’re intensive, challenging, and always rewarding. When you spend 3 full class days plotting, building, and tweaking your web page to perform the way you want it to, you feel like you have achieved something great. At TAF I loved all my instructors, even the more eccentric ones. My instructor, Larry Powelson, teaches ASP.NET and I can tell he loves doing what he does because he gets this fire in his eyes sometimes when he comes up with some new 3rd bonus project for us. Larry believes in, and cares about what he’s doing. Whenever I ask Larry for some help before class, he’s always happy to put down his newspaper or close his game of solitaire, to give me the help I need. And I’ve heard the same from other TAF students that all of our instructors have this dedication to their students.
FRIENDSHIPS
I’ve made a lot of really good friends at TAF. In my first summer course at TAF I met two students, Detrique and his sister Erin, who came from Philly. We became really good friends and one day after TAF we even saw the third Austin Powers movie together. And when TAF concluded for the summer he invited me to his Aunt’s BBQ. Since he was from Philly he said he just had to try a sandwich from the Old Philly’s Best, and he actually said “it wasn’t awful for a Seattle imitation.”
One outing that I know brought everyone at TTIP closer together was the University of Puget Sound overnight stay that the upperclassmen went on. At UPS We stayed up late running from dorm to dorm; and at meals we took full advantage of the meal cards provided. This trip gave us a chance to discover what interests we had in common besides computers. It was on this trip that I found out that Joel shares my love for underground hip-hop artists like Mos Def and Talib Kweli, but we have different opinions about Tupac and Biggie. I feel connected to all my classmates at TAF. And even if we don’t meet up outside of TAF, we have a community that will continue our friendship with instant messenger, probably forever.
JOB EXPERIENCE
From the first time I heard about TTIP the major selling point for me was the paid internship. Before TAF, I never had any real job experience. The closest thing I had to a real job was getting abducted by my dad on hot summer days, to mow lawns for his gardening business. So the white collar, technical jobs TAF presented were a better alternative for me. I was very lucky to interview and be hired for my first internship last summer working at PlayTime Inc. PlayTime Inc. is a corporate teambuilding company, and my job was to create digital slideshows for clients who used PlayTime Inc.’s Geoteaming product. Since this was my first job, I wanted everything to go right on my first day at work, so I would make a good impression on my boss John Chen. But once I found out I would be working from his home office in a neighborhood foreign to me, I was worried I would be late on my first day just trying to find the house. So the day before I started working, my mom and I drove around for about an hour plotting the best way to get to his house by bus while struggling to find his house. At one time we were posted outside of his house for like 10 minutes debating if it was actually the house. I’m sure we looked like stalkers. The point of the story is to give you an idea of how seriously I took my internship, and I know every other TTIP student takes his or her internship just as seriously.
HIGHER ED BOUND
Higher Ed Bound has been a really helpful program and I’m grateful that it was added to TAF the same year I came. I’m grateful to Erica and Higher Ed Bound for providing an encompassing college preparation program. It was in Higher Ed Bound that I first took the practice SAT. I went on my first college visits with Higher Ed Bound, and my parents and I attended their financial aid workshop.
My TAF story is only 2½ years long but I wish it had been longer. Even though my thank you isn’t adequate for all that they have given, I would like to thank TAF founder and Executive Director Trish Millines-Dziko, TTIP Program Manager Sherry Williams, Higher Ed Bound Program Manager Erica Sabatino, and my ASP and ASP.Net Instructor Larry Powelson.

Comments

[Udie Chim]

John, this is Udie. I was just visiting the playtime site to learn whats the latest with your company since I have been away. Im really surprised to find that you posted my speech and mentioned my contributions last summer. Thats really cool of you. Anyways I like the new logo that you have for geoteaming and also the layout of the geoteaming page. Hopefully we can catch up before I go to Oberlin in september. The work you have put into playtime seems to be paying of tenfold.