Three-day AI workshop, where students build their own AI future.
Audience
9th–12th grade students with an interest in STEM and entrepreneurship.
Goals
Each student completes a mini AI portfolio with:
- 1 trained model (image classifier or chatbot)
- 1 real-world application pitch
Day 1: Learn + Experiment
Theme: “What is AI and what can I build?”
| Time | Activity | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| 10:00 – 10:45 AM | Mentors Intros | Mentors hype the cohort up! |
| 10:45 – 11:11 AM | AI Primer: What is AI and ML? | Sabelo leads. |
| 11:11 – 12:00 | Group Questions: “What do you want to get out of AI? What can you give to others?” | |
| 12:00 – 1:00 | Lunch + Brainstorm | Mentors are available to hear ideas. |
| 1:00 – 4:00 | Hands-on Lab: Build your first model using Teachable Machine | Tyler introduces a project. Mentors help groups. Includes two breaks. |
| 4:00 – 4:20 | Portfolio Presentation: Show what you did! | Mentors comment. |
Day 2: Build + Apply
Theme: “What can I create that’s useful?”
| Time | Activity | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| 10:00 – 10:11 AM | Warm-Up: Recap | Groups that didn’t present Day 1, present. |
| 10:11 – 11:45 PM | Vibecoding: Lovable, ChatGPT, and Claude Intro | Sonthia: ChatGPT + Claude Justin: Lovable (Neighborhood Project + ChatGPT (Learning to Code) Blake: ChatGPT GPTs |
| 11:45 – 1:00 PM | Project Time: Write your first prompt. | Write your first prompt, then mentors respond. |
| 1:00 – 2:00 PM | Lunch + Mentor Sessions | |
| 2:00 – 2:30 PM | Jupiter Notebooks Introduction | Deryl leads. Assemble “Team Jupiter”. |
| 2:30 – 3:50 PM | Workshop: Work on your project with mentors. Get to a clear out come. | Switch groups! Sabelo demos the Prompt Engineering Guide. End by reporting on status. |
Day 3: Refine + Present
Theme: “How do I lead with AI?”
| Time | Activity | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| 10:00 – 10:15 AM | Group Discussion: What’s working? What’s not? How can your tool help others? | Sonthia, Sabelo, Jaime, Blake, Tyler, and Team Obney as needed |
| 10:15 – 10:45 AM | Intro to Pitch Decks | See: Pitch deck template |
| 10:30 – 11:30 AM | Practice Pitch: Pitch your projects! What’s the problem you are solving? How are you solving it? | Be specific! Two rounds of practice pitches. You can do it in teams or on your own. |
| 11:30 – 11:35 AM | Break | |
| 11:35 – 1:00 PM | Workshop Time: Hone problems and solutions with mentors. | One-on-one with workshop leaders. |
| 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM | Lunch | |
| 2:00 PM – 2:55 PM | Build your AI Solution! Work with mentors to build your solution. | Mentors focus on solutions |
| 2:55 PM – 3:00 PM | Break | |
| 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM | Present Final Portfolio of AI Projects | Everyone pitches. Mentors respond, American Idol Style on next steps. Email pitches to 1111@philosophers.group. |
| 4:00 PM – 4:20 PM | Next Steps Circle: Where can your portfolio take you? |
Facilitators
Blake Bertuccelli-Booth is a technologist who has been working with ML technologies for over a decade. Recently, he built Equalify, an open-source web accessibility platform that is now being maintained by University of Illinois Chicago.
Jaime Zhong is a senior software engineer with experience designing large-scale platforms at Riot Games and Nike. He led development of Riot’s in-house app distribution system and architected backend cloud solutions at Nike to integrate merchant services and financial systems. His expertise includes distributed systems, cloud architecture, and technical leadership.
Justin Obney is a technology leader and entrepreneur with deep experience building web and mobile platforms. As CEO of obney.ai and co-founder of Elevator3, he has delivered custom digital solutions for diverse clients. Previously, as CTO and Director of Software Development at PayStar, he led engineering teams to develop enterprise systems. His expertise includes product strategy, software architecture, and scalable application development.
Sonthia Coleman is a retail strategist with 25+ years of experience driving merchandising innovation and digital transformation. As founder of The MVN Tech Group, she helps e-commerce brands integrate AI to improve operations and customer experiences. Backed by Google certifications in cloud, analytics, and project management, she blends industry expertise with data-driven solutions to solve complex business challenges.
Tyler Meyer is a mathematics educator with nearly a decade of experience teaching Algebra II, Pre-Calculus, and Calculus. He integrates technology into the classroom, automating grading with Google Sheets and JavaScript, and leads the Mu Alpha Theta Club to develop students’ problem-solving and logical thinking skills.
Sabelo Jupiter is a data scientist and software developer with a background in analytics and IT management. At Actionable Outcomes LLC, Sabelo delivers data-driven solutions that improve processes and performance. Previously, Sabelo contributed to projects at Custom Software Systems and led IT operations at the New Orleans Preservation Society..
Daryl Roberts is a Machine Learning Engineer with a background as a U.S. Marine Sergeant and Operations Manager. He recently completed Fullstack’s AI/ML bootcamp and holds certifications in TensorFlow, Computer Vision, and Reinforcement Learning. Skilled in Python, SQL, Langchain, PyTorch, and Hugging Face, Daryl builds and tunes models for real-world impact.
Andreas Pashos is a seasoned program and project manager with over 10 years of experience leading cross-sector initiatives that drive measurable impact. With a career spanning aerospace engineering, manufacturing, higher education, and economic development, he brings a rare ability to bridge technical detail with strategic vision.
Nathan Stockman is Chief of Education and Training Partnerships at YouthForce NOLA, leading soft skill strategy and capacity-building across schools, training providers, and internship programs. A former high school principal, he drove top-tier academic gains and expanded access to college credit and career certifications. He brings deep experience in education leadership, a focus on practical outcomes, and a belief that strong relationships drive student success.