Fifty Atlanta teenagers presented AI-powered projects, augmented reality experiences and physical products Thursday at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights, showcasing solutions developed over four weeks as part of a program designed to honor Andrew Young while teaching entrepreneurship and civic engagement.
The Living Legacies Showcase marked the fifth year of a partnership between the city's Summer Youth Employment Program, Time2Give Inc. and The Innovation Studio. Five student teams developed business plans around physical products including marble coasters with digital companions, commemorative mugs activated through augmented reality, and puzzles tied to the Youngs' civil rights history.
Each team presented a full pitch including target market, value proposition and business model. Students were paid for their work during the four-week intensive program, which paired coding and design instruction with compensation and a community-facing outcome.
"Someone's getting paid to do this, so it's pretty good to have a good time," Mayor Andre Dickens said while opening the showcase, acknowledging that teenagers need income and that legitimate, valued, compensated work affirms dignity and agency.
Laron Walker, founder of Time2Give, traced the program's roots to his own experience. Growing up in Pittsburgh, a $1,000 scholarship at a 3.0 GPA opened the door to Tennessee State University and coding. "I told myself one day when I was able, I would kind of address that, repay that back," he said.
Time2Give expanded beyond book scholarships to address broader issues of access to skills, mentorship and meaningful opportunity to apply those skills, Walker said.
Brandon Middleton, head of education at Replit, challenged the traditional college-to-employment pipeline. "A kid from the south side of Chicago or from Atlanta can actually have an idea and express that idea all in the same day and take that idea to market and build an actual product around it in a couple of days or a week," he said.
Dr. Charity Rowe-Marshall, executive director of Time2Give, urged the audience to recognize all student contributors, including those less comfortable with public presentation.
Mayor Dickens shared his own story, saying that at 16, watching Young serve as mayor inspired him to believe he could become mayor himself. "You may have something in your spirit, in your heart, telling you, I want to be a pilot, I want to be a CEO, I want to be whatever, a mayor," he told the students. "Don't let that be suppressed. Build that up. Tell somebody, tell your parents and teachers and the leaders of the programs you're in, because they can help nurture you till indeed you get to the spot where you're trying to get to."
The showcase ended with an exhibition where visitors could interact with student projects firsthand.
