Steve Wozniak, Co-Founder and Chief Scientist of Apple Computer, Inc., addressed a packed audience at ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference, where he was the recipient of The 2016 Alltech Humanitarian Award in recognition of his dedicated support for youth education programs, as well as his work behind the creation of the Apple technologies that have revolutionized the modern world.
The Humanitarian Award is given annually to someone of strong character, who uses their accomplishments to positively influence and inspire other people, and Wozniak has been involved in numerous business and philanthropic ventures that focus on encouraging creativity in young students through hands-on learning. His support has included the adoption of the Los Gatos School District, where he has donated state-of-the-art technology equipment to the schools, the founding of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Tech Museum of Innovation, the Silicon Valley Ballet, and the Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose.
Supporting education has been a priority for Steve Wozniak, the mastermind and engineer behind the Apple I and Apple II Computers, since childhood, and his resume includes eight years of service as a volunteer elementary school teacher.
“Just donating money to education wasn’t enough. It didn’t have enough heart. So I became a teacher for 8 years.” said Wozniak during his presentation. “Our computers are tools that can connect students to knowledge and information, they can help make kids interested in learning and keep them from dropping out, but they will never replace the wisdom of human teachers. We need human teachers in the equation.”
Wozniak also took time during the presentation to discuss the vision behind his creations, and what he believes the future holds for computers and technology. With Apple, his main goal was always to achieve something completely unexpected.
“I wanted to make a machine that could do what no other machine was able to do. In the early days we always used the word revolution; everybody in life kind of wants to be part of a revolution because it always leads to something better, supposedly.” He said. “And I wanted to be part of it, so I gave away my design of this computer. I would show it off. I believed in it.”
View and download photos from the event here: 2016 ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference Photo Album