About 100 students gathered in Detroit on Wednesday, July 22, for the first Youth Golf and Tech Expo, a partnership between Black Tech Saturdays and the Rocket Classic designed to introduce young people to golf and tech. African American students from middle school to college-bound attended this fair for hands-on experiences with putting, chipping, and golf simulators. This expo also featured tech displays such as robotics stations, digital animation setups, and game development workshops for learning technology.<\/p>\n
Dean Bokuniewicz serves as director of marketing for the Rocket Classic. He said the event reflects what the tournament wanted to accomplish since arriving in the city. “When we brought the tournament here eight years ago, this is what we wanted to do. We wanted to give back to the community, give back to the youth,” Bokuniewicz said, according to WXYZ<\/a>.<\/p>\n Johnnie Turnage co-founded Black Tech Saturdays. The pairing of golf and tech makes sense, he said, because “When I think about tech and golf and why they make sense is, it’s all a personal journey. You really do have to fine-tune mechanics,” Turnage said.<\/p>\n Zechariah Powell graduated from Martin Luther King High School last month. He plans to major in electrical engineering, and this combination connects to his future goals, Powell said. “Going into that field, I need to know how to properly navigate technology.” Powell also stated, “Mixing that with golf, one of the greatest sports on planet earth, in my opinion. It is hard but one good thing that comes with it is networking. Your network is your net worth to be honest.” Powell is going to Delaware State University on a full-ride scholarship to study engineering thanks to this program.<\/p>\n After attending the program, Powell said, \u201cA lot of young Black men, we don’t like to play the sport of golf, or we get introduced to it later in life,\u201d Powell said. \u201cNow it’s becoming our favorite game.\u201d He added, \u201cWhy not introduce it early on, so it’s something that we can stick with? That way we can say we’ve been playing since we were four years old.\u201d<\/p>\n Allysa Cole heads communications for Midnight Golf. She came through the program in 2011. “Golf requires patience,” Cole said, according to ClickOnDetroit<\/a>. “It requires integrity, honesty, and it requires you to show up as your full self.”<\/p>\n Participant Kylie Baker found the experience approachable for newcomers. “It’s really fun. You just need to learn how to hold the club, and it just gets easier when you learn how to hold it,” Baker said.<\/p>\n