No CS Background. Below Poverty Line. Now Learning Quantum ft. A.M. Bhatt | My EdTech Life 359

A.M. Bhatt, a former corporate strategist who once advised global executives, made a radical pivot to build a nonprofit that transforms underserved high school students into tech innovators—without requiring a CS background or wealth. At DAE (Digital Access to Excellence), he’s running one of only two quantum computing programs for public high schoolers in the U.S., with 87% of students below the poverty line. What sets his model apart isn’t just access to cutting-edge tech—it’s a radical reimagining of education as identity formation, not content delivery. Bhatt argues that traditional schools are stuck in an outdated industrial mindset, designing curricula based on what’s already in the rearview mirror. Instead, he cultivates human agency through daily communal meals, radical trust, and the belief that students are already 'okay'—they just need permission to lead. His core message? Infrastructure without people is inert, and exposure without human development is exclusive. He warns that schools investing heavily in AI and devices are missing the point unless they answer: 'On behalf of what? On behalf of whom?' For educators feeling stuck in a system that resists change, his advice is simple: stop trying to fix the world. Just drop good seeds—because the impact may not be seen for years, but it will grow.