Digital Nest to open Monday in East Salinas

“We had one computer. We had to share, it was pretty slow,” Watsonville junior Cristian Rameno said.

Before the Digital Nest existed in Watsonville, Rameno had to split his computer time with five other family members.

“I just had to wait or I could go the library,” Rameno said. “But it only allowed us one hour of use at the public library, so it was really difficult.”

That’s part of what inspired Jacob Martinez to start the technology hub — to give access to young people like Rameno.

“I tell people I put our kids up against kids from any affluent community any day in terms of their grit, their aspirations, their drive, but what they don’t have is equal access to opportunities,” Martinez said.

Now, Rameno can walk into a lab with state of the art equipment, use what he needs and even take classes to learn more.

“I’ve also done coding using CC plus, and I’ve done photography week, where we take photos, and you know, we use Adobe to edit them,” Rameno said.

The Digital Nest is giving him the skills young people in east Salinas will soon be benefiting from, when the latest hub opens Monday.

“We noticed there is a lot of youth in the community that just needed support, needed access to a safe space, training, education, mentors, so that they can be prepared for the technology world of today,” Martinez said.

Many educators said being fluent in technology is a huge boost to students in the long run.

“We actually just recently implemented a technology requirement for graduation, and we are hoping to eventually get to the point where we are having students develop some digital portfolios by the time they graduate,” said Emily Tsai Brownfield with North Monterey County Unified School District.

Something Martinez said gives kids a real life competitive edge.

“If you are a youth that is going into those industries, and you are sitting side by side with somebody who maybe has a four-year degree, but doesn’t have the tech background, the person with the technology background will out compete that person,” Martinez said.

The space at Cesar Chavez Library will open Monday to Thursday from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Those from 14 to 24 can use it for free.