Did you know, according to the U.S Department of Education, no African American students took the AP computer science exam in 9 states? In fact, less than a third of public high schools offer any higher math classes such as calculus.

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Sources say the movie Hidden Figures was an eye opener to many Americans. Actresses Taraji P. Henson, Janelle  Monae, and Octavia Spencer portrayed the major roles as the three mathematicians (Katherine Johnson, Mary Jackson and Dorothy Vaughn), who served a vital role in the history of NASA sending the first man into space, during the 1960s.

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As time passed, African Americans came a long way in different areas of life. However, according to the Grio, jobs that support science, technology, engineering and math are still considered segregated. To change this, different programs such as Pathways in Technology (P-Tech) are taking a stand making sure that minorities get the same STEM courses as others. Three students that attend the P-tech campus in New York have reached full benefits of this program. They are considered today's “Hidden Figures.” Bryann, Imani and Janiel attended P-tech at different times but came out with great opportunities and knowledge that others considered the impossible.

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Each girl has a specialty within the STEM program. They all said they love what they do, and if they had to start all over, they would do it again. However, one girl appeared especially remarkable. Janiel, not even 20 yet, graduated and right afterwards accepted a job working with the IBM company. There she works as a Digital Commerce Design Developer. She is also pursuing her bachelor's degree at Baruch College.

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Stanley Litow, (architect of the P-Tech Model) tells the Grio, “Since 2008,10 million jobs, new jobs, were created in the United States -- 10 million. Many of them required the skills that young people of color, if they get the support,  they will be successful.” After hearing that, Bryann, leaving us with one last comment mentioned that there’s not many of us. (meaning African Americans) “So when there's not a lot of us, African Americans feel like they don’t belong and that they can’t take on the task.” She feels that if you have the right mindset and support, you can do anything that you put your mind to. 2/21/17