OppenheimerFunds Award for Social Entrepreneurship
This special award is generously sponsored by OppenheimerFunds to recognize a NFTE graduate who is committed to giving back to the community through his or her business. Consideration for this award is given to NFTE students 22 years and older who have an established business that addresses a specific social issue or need or who has clearly integrated efforts to make an impact on the community.

Tonya R. Groover, 22
Technology Leadership Institute (TLI)
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

"I represent two distinct groups who are underrepresented in computer science. It’s almost impossible for me to walk into a classroom and not feel like an outsider."

As an African-American woman pursuing a degree in computer science at the University of Pittsburgh, Tonya Groover was keenly aware of the severe problem in recruiting and retaining African-Americans and other minorities in computing. Tonya had a long-standing interest in science and computing and had taken a NFTE BizCamp at the Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh while in high school.

During the summer of 2005, she was awarded a grant to conduct research, and carried out a study on the educational implications of the digital divide. Tonya confirmed many of her hypotheses about why certain groups are underrepresented in computer science, and proposed an initiative to help recruit underrepresented and minority students to the Diversity Committee of the Computer Science Department at the university.

She launched the Technology Leadership Institute in conjunction with the department. TLI is a free program to provide underrepresented and minority students with the opportunity to explore their interest in computer science. The curriculum is designed to motivate students towards learning computer and information technology while having fun. The first group of 24 students completed TLI in July 2006.

“Tonya applied her business planning skills to define and frame both the problem and the solutions in ways that made the value proposition to the youth served and the university self-evident and compelling,” says Jerry Cozewith, Executive Director, NFTE Greater Pittsburgh. Tonya says anyone “dedicated to the ‘cause’” can do what she did. But few people make this kind of effort.