About BridgED Tech

BridgED Tech is an innovative education and career platform that shows youth the pathways to the careers of their dreams. By matching a student's interests, skills, and aspirations to real career opportunities, academic programs, internships, and actionable next steps, BridgED turns a vague dream — "I want to be a doctor," "I want to be a designer," "I want to run my own business" — into a concrete, age-appropriate roadmap. From diagnostic testing and tutoring resources to job simulations, fine-dining etiquette experiences, and live art shows, BridgED curates a full day of discovery, creativity, and dreaming big for 20–25 students at a time, hosted in partnership with venues like the Philbrook Museum of Art and JA BizTown.

The platform is built for youth — primarily middle and high school students — who are beginning to imagine their futures, especially those from first-generation and low-income communities, alongside the mentors, educators, families, and community organizations who support them. Within the app, BridgED Housing serves as a complimentary student-based housing resource that helps first-generation and low-income students find housing near their matched career or educational destination. Whether a young person is exploring trades, military service, law, medicine, entrepreneurship, or the arts, BridgED meets them where they are and walks with them toward where they want to go.

The concept of "Learning by giving back" took place in 2011, born out of Youth at Heart — a Tulsa organization that works to shape, support, and encourage inner-city youth and maximize their potential for success in life, school, and their communities through education and enrichment programs, teen leadership programs, and recreational sports. That June, a group of six Tulsa youths living in Housing Authority complexes traveled to Uganda to build a classroom and mentor children less fortunate than themselves. Among them was 15-year-old Champaign Holcomb, then a student at Webster High School, whose experience on that trip planted the seeds of a lifelong mission — giving back so the next generation could plant their own.

BridgED Tech was created by Champaign Holcomb, Founder and CEO, whose community-driven vision grew from that 2011 Youth at Heart journey and is grounded in the principle of "learning by giving back." The organization has created experiences that help young people feel valued, seen, and equipped for the journey ahead. The platform is developed in collaboration with educators, career professionals, keynote speakers like Chapelle Bargas and Gabriel Bonner, artists like Matt Moffett, and partners across education, trades, military, and community service. Together, they believe this is the beginning of every student's journey — and that learning by giving back is how you get there.