MadLad Electronics wants technology to be accessible to all – Oregon Observer
OCA Media premieres a video of MadLad Electronics’s ribbon-cutting ceremony at 6 a.m. on Sept. 6.
OCA Media premieres a video of MadLad Electronics’s ribbon-cutting ceremony at 6 a.m. on Sept. 6.
MadLad Electronics’ grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony on Friday, Sept. 2 was only the public beginning of Francisco Valdes-Jasso’s journey. In reality, the electronics repair service was the physical manifestation of ideas formed back in 2015.
Valdes-Jasso noticed a lack of educational technology classes. In today’s digitally-oriented world, he worried about smaller communities like Oregon and Brooklyn being left behind. So while the business of MadLad Electronics, LLC, was founded with a retail, for-profit angle, Valdes-Jasso knew he had to serve the area in different ways, too.
“The main thing that I want to focus on… is doing classes for all walks of life. From kindergarten all the way up to elderly communities. Teaching technology,” he said. “For example, if you’re older and you don’t have confidence in using your phone, [I’ll help] you get to the point where you are comfortable with these new technologies that are going to be running everything within the next couple of years.”
Valdes-Jasso made sure to include events and classes on the types of technology that kids in small towns might not have access to in his ongoing non-profit plan. “They’re going to be using [advanced technologies] if they do move out of town, going to Madison or any other big cities,” he added.
The storefront of MadLad Electronics, situated on Oregon’s Main Street, provided that space for his dreams of community innovation. He’s planned in-person video game tournaments, drone racing and BattleBot competitions to get the younger generations interested in the fun fundamentals of technology.
“I want to facilitate that access here… by having the space as a community space,” he said. He noted that a lot of areas are overlooked simply because executives and business owners assume residents aren’t interested. Additionally, he made clear that he doesn’t want participants to have to pay for his classes and events because financial barriers tend to keep a lot of interested people out of the industry. His first sessions are on track to begin in October.
Partnerships with public institutions like the Oregon Public Library, too, will provide a forum for more traditional educational experiences. The team at MadLad Electronics is prepared to help supplement the current classes that places like the library already host. Valdes-Jasso stated that he and his employees don’t want to uproot the programs in place, but upgrade them to keep up with rapidly changing technologies.
“There was a time–2015 through 2017, I think–when the biggest influx of coding languages happened for front end development… It changes very, very quickly… So keeping up with that and being able to supplement what’s already here is a really big goal of mine,” he said.
In the interim, Valdes-Jasso and his team of specialists continue to provide services like repairs and recycling. Two rooms at the Main Street store are full to the brim with donated items, like relics of the area of chunky desktop computers and more. They repurpose and reuse the electronics to deal with other hot-topic issues in the industry, like environmental impacts of tossing out technology instead of attempting restoration.
“Everyone that’s in here is really, really passionate about just technology in general,” he said. “And helping communities, which was the main thing that I wanted to do.”
Contact reporter Alisyn Amant at aamant@wisconsinmediagroup.com.
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