Pittsburgh man recognized for inspiring youths at teen tech center

Aaron McKinnon remembers helping his father and uncles work on cars as a child.

One day McKinnon accidentally knocked over a box of nuts and bolts on the hood of the vehicle, scattering them throughout the engine.

“I got yelled at, so that killed my creativity right there,” said McKinnon, coordinator at Best Buy Teen Tech Center located within the Phase 4 Learning Center in Pittsburgh’s East Liberty/Shadyside area. “I didn’t want to do it after that, because I felt bad. I didn’t have any confidence.”

McKinnon, known as “Mr. A,” made it his mission to never let a child feel like he did that day. He has been working at the learning center for 16 years and spends every day interacting with young people ages 10-18 inside the Best Buy Teen Tech Center since it opened in 2018. It is the only one in Pennsylvania and part of The Clubhouse Network: Where Technology Meets Imagination, an international group helping underserved communities. Best Buy produced a video about the program for Black History Month.

By 2020, Best Buy Teen Tech Centers, and our tech-ed partners, will give 1 million kids a brighter future every year.

— Best Buy (@BestBuy) July 30, 2018

As described by Best Buy, the center forges relationships with local school districts and employers and provides a safe, after-school learning space. It is equipped with cutting-edge technology where youth learn new tech skills, stay on track with school, gain exposure to new career possibilities and benefit from positive adult and peer relationships.

“It is all about the relationships,” said McKinnon, who lives in the East End. “It’s about making this time here the best part of their day. I wish there was a safe place like this when I was growing up. It’s such a wonderful opportunity for youth to learn, and I enjoy working here. You can wake up every day and just get a paycheck, or you can enjoy what you are doing and get that check because you are making a difference.”

McKinnon is making a difference, said Phase 4 Founder Terrie Suica-Reed of Hanover Township, Beaver County. She was inspired to start the business after adopting a disadvantaged 13-year-old boy, Merle Thompson, who now works at one of the four learning centers.

“He changed my life when I adopted him and inspired me to want to change other people’s lives too,” she said. “I wanted to help other children like him. That is what Aaron wants too. He is amazing and an inspiration to everyone around him.”

“When you make a difference in one person’s life, you really affect all of the people around that person as well,” Suica-Reed said. “We transform lives here.”

They certainly do, said Teen Tech member Gabrielle Covington.

“Having a mentor has been a life-changing experience for me,” she said. “Coming down to the Tech Center lets me try out different things with technology and give me a voice creatively, but having someone who can help fill those life gaps in between is everything.”

That positive response means everything to McKinnon. He has helped Covington create a T-shirt to express her feelings and mentored others in woodworking, operating video equipment, playing keyboard, and being a disc jockey. They do a podcast and learn professional photography. He is the perfect person to recognize during Black History Month because of all he does, said Suica-Reed.

“You can really figure out what’s going on with someone,” McKinnon said. “We ask them questions and engage them in conversations so we can encourage them. They definitely learn by doing things and they will come back when they see the benefits. You can change a life here. We tell them it’s OK to make a mistake. If you drop something or something breaks, that’s not a problem. Things happen. We can fix it.”