Jehron Petty’s Nonprofit Inspires BIPOC Computer Science Students

If you’ve ever walked into a computer science lecture and thought, “Cool. I am either early… or I’m the only one,” you already understand the problem
Jehron Petty decided not to just understandbut to fix. Petty, a Cornell computer science grad who kept noticing how uneven the “support system” was for
students of color in tech, built a nonprofit that treats belonging like an actual requirement, not a nice-to-have.

That nonprofit is ColorStack, and it’s become a national hub for Black and Latinx computer science students (often grouped under the
broader BIPOC umbrella in conversations about representation). The mission is simple to say and harder to pull off at scale:
help students persist, graduate, and launch rewarding technical careerswithout doing it alone.

Why This Matters: The “Pipeline” Isn’t BrokenIt’s Unfair

For years, the tech world has talked about “the pipeline” like it’s a leaky straw. But for many BIPOC students, the issue isn’t motivation or talent.
It’s the invisible stuff: not having someone to ask for help without feeling judged, not knowing which internship program is legit, not having a roommate
who casually drops, “Oh yeah, my uncle’s a staff engineer at Google.”

Computer science is also a culture. And cultures have unspoken rules: how to prep for interviews, what projects “count,” how to negotiate, which electives
quietly unlock better opportunities, and how to survive imposter syndrome when it shows up uninvited with a megaphone.

ColorStack’s approach basically says: “Let’s stop pretending everyone starts with the same map.”

Meet Jehron Petty: Mentor Energy, Turned Into an Organization

Jehron Petty didn’t wake up one day and decide to become the CEO of a nonprofit. The origin story is more relatable: he was already mentoring peers and
building community while in collegebecause when you see someone struggling with a concept you’ve finally unlocked, you don’t just shrug and say,
“Skill issue.” You help.

At Cornell, Petty was involved with a campus organization focused on underrepresented students in computing, where mentorship and community weren’t side
queststhey were the main game. After graduation, he took the idea bigger: a national community designed specifically for Black and Latinx CS students who
want both academic support and career momentum.

What ColorStack Actually Does (Besides Just Being “Inspiring”)

Plenty of organizations claim they “support students.” ColorStack is more specific: it builds structured community, then layers academic and career
development on top so students can turn potential into outcomes.

1) A Real Community (Not a One-Off Event)

ColorStack’s backbone is connection. Think: a nationwide network where students can ask questions that feel “too basic” in a lecture hall but are totally
normal in real life:

• “How do I pick my first technical internship when I have zero fancy projects?”
• “Is it normal to bomb your first LeetCode session and consider moving to a cabin?”
• “How do I email a recruiter without sounding like a robot wrote it?”

The magic isn’t that someone always has the perfect answer. It’s that you’re not asking into the void. You’re asking people who get it.

2) Academic Support That Respects the Reality of CS

CS can be brutal even when you love it. The workload is heavy, office hours are crowded, and some students feel like they’re “behind” because they didn’t
start coding in middle school. ColorStack normalizes the learning curve and helps students get unstuck with peer support, study habits, and guidance on
what to focus on when everything feels urgent.

This matters because persistence is the quiet superpower in STEM. If you can keep going through the classes that make you question your life choices
(hello, data structures), you dramatically increase your odds of graduating and landing a role.

3) Career Development That Goes Beyond Resume Polishing

ColorStack emphasizes the practical steps that actually move careers forward:

• Internship readiness: timelines, applications, and realistic strategies for different experience levels
• Interview preparation: technical practice plus confidence-building and peer accountability
• Professional exposure: workshops, speakers, and conversations that make “tech career” feel tangible
• Navigation skills: how to build relationships, seek mentorship, and advocate for yourself

And it’s not all “grind harder.” The organization also reinforces that boundaries and mental stamina matterbecause burnout is a terrible career plan.

How ColorStack Inspires Students: It Makes Success Feel Normal

Inspiration isn’t just motivational quotes on a pastel background. Inspiration is seeing someone like you get the internship, pass the interview, lead the
project, and come back to tell you exactly how they did itwithout gatekeeping.

That’s one of ColorStack’s biggest impacts: it turns “Maybe someone like me can do this” into “Okay, I know three people like me doing this right now.”
When you can picture yourself in the future, you’re more likely to keep going in the present.

The Secret Sauce: Belonging + Information = Momentum

A lot of students don’t lack abilitythey lack context. Tech is full of “hidden curriculum” knowledge: unwritten rules that students with insider networks
learn early. ColorStack helps make that curriculum visible.

The result is momentum: students apply earlier, prepare smarter, ask better questions, and stop interpreting every setback as proof they don’t belong.
They start treating setbacks as what they are: part of learning.

What This Looks Like in Real Life

Here are specific, practical ways a community like ColorStack can change a student’s trajectory:

Example: The “First-Gen CS Major” Internship Sprint

A student from a non-target school (meaning: not a famous top-50 CS program) is trying to land their first internship. They’re competing against peers
who have polished GitHub portfolios and friends already at big tech companies. In a community like ColorStack, that student can:

• Get honest feedback on which projects are feasible in 2–4 weeks
• Learn what “good enough” looks like for a freshman/sophomore internship
• Borrow study routines for technical interviews instead of winging it
• Find a buddy to keep them consistent (the underrated superpower)

Example: The “I’m the Only One in My Lab” Confidence Boost

Another student lands in a research lab or advanced class where they feel isolated. A supportive network gives them a place to vent, get advice, and hear
from others who’ve been there. That reduces dropout risknot because the coursework gets easier, but because the student stops carrying the emotional load
alone.

Why Companies and Universities Pay Attention

ColorStack isn’t just a feel-good story; it aligns with what institutions say they want: more diverse talent thriving in technical fields. Employers want
strong engineers. Universities want retention and graduation. Students want careers that don’t require sacrificing identity or dignity.

A community that improves retention and career readiness helps all threeespecially when it scales beyond a single campus.

How Students Can Get the Most Out of a Community Like This

If you’re a BIPOC computer science student (or an ally mentoring one), here’s how to turn membership in a support community into actual results:

Show Up Consistently (Even When You’re Busy)

The best time to build relationships is before you desperately need help. Join discussions, attend workshops, and don’t wait until finals week panic
arrives like a surprise villain.

Ask Specific Questions

“How do I get an internship?” is huge. Try: “I’m a sophomore with one class project and no work experiencewhat are 3 internships I should target, and
what project can I build in 3 weekends to support my application?”

Give Back Early

You don’t need to be a senior engineer to help someone. If you just learned recursion, you can help someone who’s about to learn recursion.
Paying it forward builds confidence fast.

What Makes Jehron Petty’s Approach Stand Out

The standout move is that ColorStack treats underrepresentation as a community and systems problem, not an individual weakness. It doesn’t say,
“Work harder and maybe you’ll be accepted.” It says, “You belong. Now here’s the support and information you deserve.”

That shift is powerful, because it reframes success as achievable and repeatablenot a lucky exception.

Conclusion: A Blueprint for Belonging in Tech

Jehron Petty’s nonprofit inspires BIPOC computer science students by doing something surprisingly rare: it makes support scalable.
Not everyone has a mentor in their family. Not every campus has a strong network for students of color in computing.
But a national communitybuilt intentionallycan close that gap.

ColorStack is proof that representation isn’t just about who gets hired at the end. It’s about who gets supported in the middlewhen the assignments are
hard, the interviews are intimidating, and the doubt is loud. When students have community and clear pathways, they don’t just survive CS. They start to
own it.

Experiences That Echo the ColorStack Effect (500+ Words)

The most common “experience” students describe in communities like ColorStack isn’t a single dramatic momentit’s a slow, steady shift from isolation to
confidence. Below are composite, anonymized experiences that reflect patterns students often report in BIPOC-focused computing communities
(shared here as realistic scenarios, not as claims about specific individuals).

The Late-Night Debugging Thread That Saves a Semester

One student is stuck on a programming assignment that’s due at midnight. They’ve reread the prompt, watched tutorials, and stared at the same error so long
it starts to feel personal. In a typical setting, that student might give up, submit nothing, and quietly decide they “aren’t cut out for CS.”

But in a supportive community, they post a screenshot of the error message, explain what they tried, and someone replies with the kind of calm clarity that
changes everything: “You’re close. Your loop is correct, but your base case isn’t firing.” Another person shares a tiny example input and shows how to trace
it. The student fixes it, submits on time, andthis is the important partlearns that struggle is normal. That one thread doesn’t just solve a bug; it
prevents a dropout spiral.

The Internship “Reality Check” That Stops the Comparison Trap

Another student scrolls social media and sees peers announcing internships at famous companies. They start comparing timelines and assume they’re behind.
In a community like ColorStack, they hear something more honest: “A lot of people post the win, not the 70 rejections.” They also learn strategyhow to
target smaller companies, local startups, university labs, or apprenticeship-style programs that build real experience.

The student shifts from chasing prestige to building skills and proof. They complete a manageable project (something they can explain clearly in an
interview), practice behavioral questions with peers, and apply consistently for six weeks. When they land an offer, it feels earnednot miraculous. And
they come back to share the template that worked, turning their personal win into community knowledge.

The “I Can Actually Belong Here” Moment at a Workshop

A first-year student attends a virtual workshop expecting it to be stiff and corporate. Instead, they hear speakers talk plainly about imposter syndrome,
navigating spaces where you’re underrepresented, and how to ask for help without feeling like you’re “proving a stereotype.” The workshop doesn’t promise a
shortcut. It offers language, tools, and a sense of normalcy.

Afterward, the student messages someone they met: “How did you pick your concentration?” That turns into a short mentorship chat, which turns into a study
buddy, which turns into a friend. Months later, when the student hits a hard class, they don’t disappear. They reach out. That is the real difference:
the community becomes a habit, not a rescue mission.

The Pay-It-Forward Loop

Finally, one of the most powerful experiences is when students realize they can help others sooner than they think. A sophomore who just learned technical
interview basics runs a mock interview for a freshman. A junior shares how they structured their internship search spreadsheet. A senior demystifies
negotiation with a simple script: “I’m excited about this offercan we talk about the range and leveling?”

Each of these moments builds a culture where success is shared, not hoarded. That culture is what makes a nonprofit like Jehron Petty’s ColorStack
inspiring: it doesn’t rely on a hero. It builds a system where students become each other’s supportand then carry that forward into the industry.