Today, I write my letter to you with a mix of happiness and sadness. On June 17th, we will have the very last Technical Teens Internship Program (TTIP) graduation. TTIP was the very first program we launched back in 1997, just one year after opening our doors. The inaugural cohort of teens in that program were pioneers who grew with us as we set out on this journey to prove that teens of color could create and invent technology, work in corporations as summer interns, and go to college. They stayed with us while we tweaked the curriculum. They gladly (OK, most days) ate the sandwiches Jill, Sherry and I made in my kitchen every day. They endured technical glitches. They had their parents beaming during the first parent night where they showed off their websites, and they did everyone proud when they finished their summer internships with glowing reviews. They took the dream and made it a reality. For that I am forever grateful.

Yes, they were the pioneers and they set the stage for the teens that came after them. Over the years all our teens have become role models for their younger family members, their community and our staff. The program has been a huge success and it's that success that led us to believe that we could and should do more for more children. We used our experience to create TAF Academy and make TTIP a critical part of the student experience. So the happy part of this story is that while TTIP will no longer be a standalone after school program, it will still be with us in another form.