Access to technology is widely accepted as vital to economic prosperity, but not all residents of the Commonwealth have the skills to take advantage of it. This year, Fitchburg State students have begun work on a project to be part of the solution.
Through a grant-funded program entitled “Tackling the Broadband Digital Equity Gap in Fitchburg,” the students worked under the supervision of Professor Jane Huang of the Environmental, Geographic and Public Health Sciences Department to promote digital literacy to cohorts of adolescent and senior residents of the city.
The $126,000 grant, shared by UMass Lowell, will hire additional interns in the coming academic year.
The university interns worked with teens at the Adrian Ford Center for Change and with residents at Joseph House, an affordable housing development for seniors in the city. The participants grew their skills and ended the program with Google Chromebook computers to keep. They shared basic computer literacy skills and introduced topics like cybersecurity, video editing, virtual reality and drone technology.
Madison Ambrogi, graduating in 2026, was recruited for the project by Professor Huang and worked with teenagers at the neighborhood center.
“After learning about the objective of this internship, I was extremely excited to be able to contribute to the acquisition of knowledge by the youth this initiative was focused on,” said Ambrogi, a Templeton native who is double majoring in biology and Earth and environmental science with minors in chemistry and geographic information systems. “It can be quite overwhelming to consider the magnitude of evolution and development technology has not only undergone, but also the role it has come to play in modern, day-to-day life. To be digitally and technologically literate is now not only a beneficial skill, but almost a mandated requirement to function in today’s society.”
Despite those requirements, she continued, many fail to see the potential of technology.
“I was honestly surprised by the lack of exposure to computers many students report to have had throughout their childhood and early adulthood,” she said. “They were incredibly well-versed in smartphones and tablets alike, but lacked a lot of experience with desktop monitors, as well as any relevant skill sets unique to those computers.”
Isabel Lemek, graduating in 2025, enjoyed broadening the teens’ horizons. “It was fun to introduce them to even more things they can do with technology, like making movie trailers, coding, using Google earth and GIS, and using drones and virtual reality,” said Lemek, a Gardner native studying Earth and environmental science. “It is fun to watch them be excited and proud of the work they create.”
Ambrogi said working with the teens changed her perspective on the topic of digital equity. “It never dawned on me the sheer amount of dependence we place on computers and the internet, as well as how I feel like I belong to a very small, very lucky subset of people who were able to grow up, in earlier years, with desktop monitors to acquire relevant the skill set that is deemed more antiquated in present times, as well as having an understanding and appreciation of laptops, smartphones, and tablets.”
Lemek agreed. “I think that it is very important to make sure kids understand how technology works as it is still evolving,” she said. “We don't want kids left behind as more and more places rely on understanding how to use different aspects of technology.”
Robert Lee of Billerica, who graduated in May with a degree in criminal justice and is spending this summer in the university’s police academy, also worked with the teens. “I got to gain some practical experience dealing with youths, and further understanding their thought processes, learning needs, and learning styles,” he said. “I was surprised at the lack of experience in computer usage. For me, computer class was a mandatory part of my curriculum as a kid.”
Lee added that he was hopeful the state would invest in programming to create more opportunities for populations to become computer literature. “Nothing can replace computer classes in a formal education,” he said. “The work we do is good and informative, but we cannot give them all the skills they would be able to get from a dedicated class.”
While only a few years older than the teens with whom she interacted, Ambrogi was also aware of a major gulf of experience.
“I think that it is very important to make sure kids understand how technology works as it is still evolving,” she said. “We don't want kids left behind as more and more places rely on understanding how to use different aspects of technology.”
Mary-Kate Moreau worked with seniors at Joseph House. An Earth and environmental science major, with a minor in geographic information systems and biology, she was recruited for the program by Professor Huang.
“We can work together to get everyone affordable digital technology and close the digital equity gap,” she said. “The adults were very involved, and it’s been really fun working with them.”
Residents described a range of familiarity with technology, including a desire to become more fluent so they could communicate with doctors on website portals, for example, or keep in touch with family members on social media.
Huang told the group on their first day of instruction that they were bound for success. “I find adults are so motivated to learn,” she said.