Free Futures Through STEAM

K-12 STEAM education

County of Los Angeles (select only if your project has a countywide benefit) City of Los Angeles (select only if your project has a citywide benefit)

Pilot or new project, program, or initiative (testing or implementing a new idea)

Black students in Los Angeles are too often excluded from meaningful access to STEAM learning and creative economy pathways. School systems rarely reflect their culture, history, or brilliance. At the same time, the AI and tech industries are rapidly evolving, and without intervention, Black youth will be further sidelined from economic mobility, digital agency, and civic power. The gap isn’t just about tech skills—it’s about who gets to imagine, design, and lead the future. HillmanTok University exists to close this gap by bringing culturally rooted STEAM education, digital storytelling tools, and career-ready coaching directly to the students who need it most. We meet Black youth where they are—TikTok, Discord, community events—and help them build where they dream.

This grant will fund HTU's Creative Futures Lab: a free, yearlong STEAM program for Black youth (ages 11–18) in Los Angeles. The Lab combines digital literacy, AI fluency, creative media skills, and community coaching to equip students with the tools to build, tell, and own their stories—while gaining pathways into the creative economy.
Key components include:
Weekend workshops on AI, video production, Notion/Discord, Canva, and entrepreneurship
Field trips to tech, media, and art organizations across LA
Guest speakers from Microsoft Learn, community orgs, and creative careers
Wraparound support including mentorship, tech access, and family engagement
We center joy, identity, cultural fluency, and real-world learning. Every session blends creative play with career power, helping students not just learn STEAM tools, but use them to imagine their futures.

If we succeed, LA will have a bold new generation of Black digital leaders, creators, and thinkers who feel empowered to build futures where they belong. Middle and high school students who once felt unseen in school or unsure in tech will step forward as confident storytellers, builders, and community leaders. Families will see new possibilities. Local orgs will find fresh talent. And the creative economy will reflect the brilliance of Black LA youth. Instead of waiting to be included, our students will be the ones shaping what's next.