High school and college interns in Prince George's County, Maryland, are using technology to improve conditions in some of the county's most challenged neighborhoods.
The interns from the county’s Office of Information Technology meet people where they live, then go back to the office and brainstorm on how to use technology to fix that particular community’s problems.
“We kind of make them project managers without them realizing that’s what we’re doing,” Program Director Sandra Longs said.
There’s a group for each of those troubled neighborhoods, and they’re competing for which group can come up with the best idea. Last year’s winners created a job finding app.
“I think I speak for everyone in the group when I say it’s not about winning,” American University student Terrell Green. “We are all very competitive we want to come up with the best solution but at the end of the day it’s about serving community.”