We Are Intel
Learn about Intel culture and the individuals who do something wonderful everyday
1008 Discussions

Not Your Average 9-to-5: How Intel Employees Are Impacting Their Communities

We_Are_Intel
Employee
1 0 2,978

Our employees do wonderful work and are part of groundbreaking projects at Intel—but just as impactful is the work they perform in their communities. 

Giving back from the Pacific Northwest to Nigeria
Community involvement and activism have always been important to Nnennaya Udochu. An analog engineer at Intel and a founder of the United Nations Association of Portland’s Young Professionals Network, Nnennaya began looking for ways to get involved as soon as she moved to Portland, Oregon. Now, the Young Professionals Network has been going strong since 2016. 

“COVID-19 has made it a little bit challenging, but we have upcoming events that I’ll be planning and it’s been so amazing,” Nnennaya said. “I had the privilege of going out to the UN in New York and speaking on topics like African sickle cell and participating in the UN’s Women's Day.” 

Being from Nigeria, Nnennaya also wanted to make a difference back home and inspire young African women to pursue their education. Through her work with the UN, Nnennaya has organized fundraisers to support Kenyan refugee camps and Nigerian communities. 

A truly local connection
Lenitra Durham, a senior software engineer, has found a way to involve her community—and even her kids—in the work she does at Intel.  

One project that enabled such participation was an early education-focused project called Kid Space. Because she wanted this project to be an interactive game that uses the physical space around them (instead of having children unengaged while in front of a screen), she had her own kids test out the game during the research stage. They even had the opportunity to come into work with Lenitra to see how video games are built.  

“I got to bring them into the lab and they got to see behind the scenes, which is great to share with them at their young age,” Lenitra said. “They get to see the actual work that goes into video games, and I like being able to share that.” 

Lenitra and her team were able to deploy Kid Space at a local school right before the pandemic, and the kids got to try the game out and be involved in the process. Through this fun and interactive introduction to computer science, Lenitra has seen a spark in kids who see the potential excitement in pursuing engineering or programming. She hopes children in her community—even her own—may one day consider pursuing a career in STEM because of their exposure to the technology she helped build. 

Through their efforts, Nnennaya and Lenitra are helping improve their communities and stand as role models to young people eager to follow their footsteps future careers in tech.

 

Want to make an impact on others through your career in tech?
Discover opportunities with us to do wonderful.