Mojave Basin Youth Corps was another organization that impressed us with their video story, winning them an Honorable Mention in the Digital Storytelling Challenge. I got the opportunity to learn more about the organization behind the camera by connecting with Luis H. Lopez.

What organization do you work for and where are you located?

I work for Mojave Basin Youth Corps (MBYC), Inc. in Adelanto, California.

Tell us briefly about the mission of your organization and your work.

MBYC was established May 18, 1999 as a non-profit 501(c) (3) organization to develop our youth by providing a meaningful education, employment skills, low-income housing, and training opportunities through projects that conserve natural resources, increase awareness of recycling, thus benefiting San Bernardino county.

As far as my work with the organization, my official title is IT Supervisor, but my work here is much more than hardware/software updates and network/server support and maintenance. Because I have a background in construction I also assist in the construction training aspect of our organization, I am a PACT (Pre-Apprenticeship Certificate Training for construction) certified trainer, and work closely with our Senior Construction trainer to provide our participants with the Green Building Certification through the PACT training.

How are you involved with or have used TechSoup?

We get our discounted software from Techsoup. I also read and find most of the articles informative and helpful.

Was this your first time your organization created a digital story? What was the process like for you? Biggest challenge?

I heard about the challenge on Facebook. It just happened to coincide with us receiving the final cut for our promo video. The problem was that the final video was slightly over three minutes long. I made a copy of the video and edited it down to just under one minute [which was the time limit for the challenge]. I think making it flow smoothly was one of my biggest obstacles.

What are your biggest technology challenges?

Since we are a nonprofit, having funds for the software that we need is one of our biggest challenges. We've been wanting the Adobe CS4 Master Collection in order to provide our participants with a Computer Graphics class. We also need an updated server software (currently have Windows Server 2003). After trying Windows 7 on a few of our PCs, we have found that we work more effectively than XP and definitely better than we do with Vista.

What are the must-have tech tools you can't do without?

• Laptop
• External hard drive (for backup)
• Blackberry

What are a few of your favorite online resources?

• TechSoup
• Workforce3One, an interactive e-learning and knowledge-sharing platform

How can others connect with you and your organization?

Our organization has a website (currently undergoing maintenance), as well as a Facebook page,  and you can follow us @Mojavebasin on Twitter.

MBYC's Honorable Mention Submission: