APPLETON, Wis.— Oladimeji Tomori was on the wrong end of the employment line when COVID-19 hit.

The IT specialist lost his job, and when he went looking for a new opportunity, he couldn’t find one.

In part, he knew why. His name looked different, and he was Black.

What You Need To Know

  • Pointters Community Initiatives designed to help minorities in Appleton Area

  • Pointters was started by Oladimeji Tomori, who struggled to find work after losing his job because of COVID

  • To lean more about Pointters Community Initiatives, click here

So he pivoted. He founded an organization called Pointters Community Initiatives, whose mission is to ensure minorities have easy access to programs that create better economic opportunities, stability and improve quality of life. He wants to drive change, by being the change.

Thursday at Fox Valley Technical College, his mission was in motion. There were 150 freshmen and sophomores, Blacks and minorities, from the Appleton Area School District taking part in a “Career Focus Program.”

“If I could be having the same problems, in terms of looking for jobs with my qualifications, how many Black African Americans, or minorities, are there in the same position,” Tomori said. “And then I started checking all the data, and I found out that we need a lot of help. We need a lot of support. So that is why I decided to start this program.”

Business information technology, health care, information technology and law enforcement representatives around the Fox Valley were on hand to give the students some insight into what those careers offer.

“We’re in the Fox Valley, and how often do you get to come to a space and you see a roomful of kids of color fully engaged, talking about their future. It’s a big deal,” said Michael Hernandez, an assistant superintendent with the Appleton Area School District.

“I think part of the importance is … they’re walking the halls and they’re seeing; they’re feeling. They’re seeing other people who look like them as well. They’re now just beginning to see that there’s something beyond high school and this could be it. And they’re interacting with APD (Appleton Police Department) in a very safe situation, where they’re laughing and learning. They are going in for the health sciences. At least it’s clicking right now. This might be something I might be interested in.”

Events like Thursdays, Tomori said, are to educate.

“I felt that sometimes, we may have some level of bias in an organization because of the way your name looks, stuff like that,” he said. “But the main thing is knowledge. I want to make sure that all the students are getting impacted. So, if they have the knowledge of where to go to make decisions for their lives, what career, what business they want to do, I think that is the first step to take.”

Vivianna Lantz, a freshman at Appleton West, was thankful for the opportunity.

“I feel like I have more of an advantage right now because I get to go on these field trips,” she said. “I get more experience.”

Asked if anything sparked her interest, Lantz mentioned health care, IT, public safety with the police and animal control. Which is the whole idea.

“I find new passions,” she said. “And I find new stuff that I would like to do in the future.”

Tomori has already developed an impressive list of sponsors. One is Microsoft, whose current president Brad Smith is a graduate of Appleton West.

Shannon Suda represented Microsoft and its Technology Education and Learning Support (TEALS) Program, which is part of Microsoft Philanthropies.

“So we bring computer science to high schools, and we specialize in underserved populations,” she said.

“I think it’s really important, because especially with technology, as the students get older, they eliminate themselves from careers. So, if they don’t have that exposure when they’re younger, they don’t even think of it as an option. So, catching them when they’re younger, we can kind of teach them how to incorporate not just computer science, but the tools that you use within computer science that can rollover into their whole life.”

Tomori works as an IT professional again, but is driven by this new venture. Repeatedly, he expressed his appreciation to those who have become sponsors and those in the Fox Cities who have welcomed them in.

“I want to thank those who looked at us and said, ‘OK, we can support you,” Tomori said. “And then making the dream come true. I want to tell organizations out there, you’re changing lives; you’re changing destinies. You’re changing generations to come. And I think that is something that makes sense.”

 

Story idea? You can reach Mike Woods at 920-246-6321 or at: michael.t.woods1@charter.com