AI SATURDAY
ACADEMY.
Learn AI in the morning. Launch a company by 4 PM.
One free, high-energy Saturday for NYC students ages 13–18. Hands-on AI labs in the morning. Build and pitch a real company in the afternoon. No experience needed. Everything provided.
AI is rewriting the first job.
AI is becoming the price of entry to the modern workforce, and access to it is not evenly distributed. In the communities we serve, students are surrounded by AI headlines but rarely given hands-on time with the tools, a knowledgeable adult to guide them, or a reason to see themselves as builders. The students with early access will define the next decade of work. That divide is forming now, in high school. It is entirely closable — and it costs one Saturday.
MORNING — Three hands-on labs.
How AI actually works. Prompting like a pro. No-code building with Canva AI and Lovable. Plus a straight-talk ethics huddle: hallucinations, bias, verification, responsible use.
MIDDAY — Careers, live.
Lunch panel with professionals and sponsor reps: “How I Use AI at Work.” Real people, real workflows, real Q&A.
AFTERNOON — The Company Build Sprint.
Teams of 4–5 take a real problem from idea → brand → published landing page → 3-minute pitch, judged live at Demo Day.
Saturday to move a teen from consumer to builder
students, small by design — every student ships
student companies pitched live by 4 PM
The day, minute by minute.
- 8:30Check-in + breakfast
- 9:00Welcome + Lab 1: How AI Actually Works
- 10:00Lab 2: Prompt Like a Pro
- 11:00Lab 3: No-Code Build + Ethics Huddle
- 12:00Lunch panel: How I Use AI at Work
- 12:45Company Build Sprint (4 milestones: Problem + Customer, Brand, Product, Pitch)
- 3:15Demo Day: live pitches to judges
- 3:50Awards, certificates, next steps
- 4:00Parent pickup (signed release confirmation at exit)
What every student leaves with
A published product — a live landing page they built.
A pitch they delivered — 3 minutes, real judges.
Real AI fluency — prompting, iteration, verification, judgment.
A pathway — certificate, mentorship nominations, future cohorts.
Everything a parent needs to know.
Completely free.
No cost, ever. Breakfast, lunch, and snacks included. Devices and all tool accounts provided. Transit support available on request.
Safety first.
Every volunteer is background-checked. Two adults in every room at all times — no exceptions. No private contact between volunteers and students.
Your consent, always.
Signed parent/guardian consent required to attend. Separate opt-in media release — students without a release are never photographed.
Age-appropriate tech.
Supervised accounts appropriate for minors; we confirm each tool's age terms and provision accounts in advance. Students never sign up for anything with personal info on-site.
The day, handled.
Drop-off 8:30 AM, pickup 4:00 PM sharp with release confirmation at exit. Dietary needs collected at registration and honored.
What to bring.
Just the student. Curiosity required, experience not. Everything else is on us.
Save your student's seat.
Only 20 seats. Two minutes to reserve.
One Saturday. A front-row seat when a 14-year-old ships her first product.
We need 8–10 volunteers who use AI professionally and want to pass it on. We provide the full run of show, pre-built labs, all accounts, meals, and a LinkedIn-worthy credential. You bring the energy.
Lab Instructor (2)
Comfortable demoing Claude/ChatGPT live and teaching prompting to beginners. Leads one 40-minute morning lab.
Team Coach (4–5)
Uses AI at work; can coach without taking over. Guides one student team through the afternoon build sprint.
Tech Floater (2)
Hands-on with Canva AI and Lovable; fast at unblocking accounts, WiFi, publish issues.
Panelist (3–4)
Any professional who uses AI on the job and can talk about it for 5 minutes at the lunch panel.
Demo Day Judge (3)
Leadership or investor perspective; scores pitches on a 100-point rubric, 3:15–3:50 PM.
Ops Support (1–2)
Organized and warm; check-in, forms, food, pickup.
NON-NEGOTIABLES:Working with minors means: background check completed before event day (we cover cost and process) · two-adult rule, no exceptions · no private contact with students, ever · signed code of conduct.
COMMITMENT: one 60-minute prep call the week before + event day 8:00 AM–4:30 PM.
Volunteer signup.
Impact you can report by Monday.
Sponsor one Saturday and help build the AI talent your industry will hire next. The academy is free to every family — your support is what makes that possible.
Talent pipeline
First look at motivated, AI-fluent young talent; panel and judging seats put your leaders in the room.
Brand that means it
Logo on every asset, named awards, authentic workforce-development story for community impact reporting.
Metrics, not vibes
Within two weeks: students served, demographics, projects shipped, skills gained, student quotes.
Title sponsorship. Naming on all assets. Keynote welcome. Two judge seats. Panel slot. Full impact report + media assets.
Logo on all assets. One judge seat. Panel slot. Named team award. Impact report.
Logo on event assets. Volunteer squad invitation. Impact report.
Or come in-kind.
Where the money goes.
| Your support funds | What it delivers | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|
| Student experience | Meals, materials, certificates, awards, transit support | $2,500 |
| Technology access | Device rental, AI tools, supervised minor-safe accounts | $3,500 |
| Safe, qualified adults | Background checks, safeguarding, facilitator training | $1,500 |
| Program delivery | Venue (if not in-kind), insurance, registration, family comms | $4,500 |
| Pathways after Saturday | Mentorship matching, follow-up, next cohort seed | $3,000 |
| Full cohort | 20 students, 10 volunteers, 4 launched student ventures | $15,000 |
Support at any level moves us forward. Funding beyond $15,000 seeds additional cohorts. Accountability built in: every funder receives a full impact report within two weeks and an invitation to judge Demo Day in person.
The AI Saturday Academy operates as a program of Young Mastermind Initiative d/b/a Camping To Connect, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organization (EIN: [EIN]). Contributions are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. Grants and checks payable to Young Mastermind Initiative.
Start the conversation.
Operators, not tourists.
The AI Saturday Academy is presented by Carlyle's Continuous Learning, founded by Jamian C. Polk, and operates as a program of Young Mastermind Initiative d/b/a Camping To Connect, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. Jamian leads enterprise AI workforce teams for some of the largest regulated companies in the country and has spent his career pairing revenue leadership with community building, from youth mentorship boards to nonprofit advisory work. The curriculum is built by people who deploy AI in the enterprise every week and teach it the same way: hands-on, honest, and outcome-first.
“Lift as we climb.”
The questions we hear most.
PARENT
STUDENT
VOLUNTEER
SPONSOR
Say hello.
Email: jamiancpolk@gmail.com
NYC — exact location shared with registered families before the event.