Pico students take skills to marketplace in style
By CHRISTINA WU Special to the Daily Press
PICO NEIGHBORHOOD — Much of society expected Omar Tapia, Brian Jarguin and Cesar de la Torre to lead lives filled with gangs and violence. But the men have defied such predestined stereotypes and negative expectations by starting their own computer business.
The three twentysomethings started taking computer classes at the Pico Youth & Family Center more than a year ago. At the beginning, their computer skills didn’t amount to much.
But recently, the trio formed The Computer Collaborative, a business that provides computer service and repair, video editing, production and printing services. The entrepreneurs serve mainly small businesses and residents within the Pico neighborhood, situated on the east-side of Santa Monica.
“It was one of those things that spring up on you … like a good business idea,” said de la Torre, 23. “I’ve had a couple dollars here and there, but nothing like computer work. I get $75 an hour and I PLUGGED IN, from page 1 said, ‘Oh, this works for me.’”
Each of the men are equal business partners, while performing different functions within the company. In addition to service and repair, Tapia is responsible for designing and printing business cards and brochures; Jarquin’s function is graphic design and de la Torre is marketing director. The partners plan to service the Pico neighborhood and gradually expand to other low-income locales.
The Pico Youth & Family Center, funded partially by City Hall, is a non-profit organization that offers classes and support groups for youth ages 16 to 24 in the Santa Monica area. Many of the youths are classified as “at risk,” having had previous run-ins with the law or hailing from single-parent homes. The focus of the center’s programs is to provide youths with skills and tools necessary to give them a sense of value, self-esteem and the ability to compete in the workforce.
Tapia, Jarguin and de la Torre met while taking a computer technician training class at the center. And by all accounts, their story is a successful one as the aim of the class is for the participants to learn how to repair computers and then take their knowledge to develop entrepreneurial skills.
In 2000, approximately one out of five families in the Pico neighborhood were single-parent households, according to a RAND Corp. study. De la Torre’s mother raised him as a single parent. His stepfather was a drug addict.
Each of the three devote the majority of their time to the seven-day-a-week business, which in itself keeps them out of trouble. They have never been in gangs, but admit they have been affiliated with gang members. Many of their friends have not been so fortunate.
“A lot of my peers are either in drugs, got kids or jail... Four of my close friends are dead,” said de la Torre. “For change, you got to want to change. Unfortunately, a lot of guys I went to high school with don’t want to change.”
Sheldon Kretchman, 69, teaches computer training classes at PYFC. Now he also serves as a mentor to the three busi-nessmen.
“We learn together and I teach them about business because it can’t happen overnight,” Kretchman said. “You learn from experience.”
“We learn together and I teach them about business because it can’t happen overnight. You learn from experience.” — SHELDON KRETCHMAN Computer training teacher
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on February 23, 2005. Read the original PDF.