Businesswoman Zekita Armstrong Asuquo brings a fierce determination to any project she sets her mind to. A St. Louis native and Vashon High School graduate who has held roles in consulting, publishing, and diversity, equity and inclusion, she always knew that she wanted to start her own workforce development agency in her hometown.
Asuquo has navigated her own education and career largely on her own, lacking the support of pipeline programs or formal mentorship until joining the Regional Business Council’s Black and Brown Executive Leadership program a few years ago. She was driven by a personal mission to meet young people where they are and guide them toward opportunities for economic mobility.
While watching the evening news one night in 2016, Asuquo heard the announcement that the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) had declared St. Louis as the location of its new NGA West Campus. She knew then that her nonprofit would focus on the geospatial sciences.
“When I decide to do something, I’m doing it,” she says. “You can either get on the train and go with me, or not.”
Fast forward to 2023 and witness Gateway Global American Youth and Business Alliance Academies Inc., which has trained 126 students since 2018, representing the only organization in the country to gain high-school level accreditation from the United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation (USGIF). It joins Saint Louis University and the University of Missouri as one of only three USGIF-accredited institutions in Missouri.
By focusing on recent high school graduates, Asuquo seeks to fill the rising regional demand for middle-skill jobs in the industry, such as geospatial technician or data analyst — which require only a semester or two of training, pay reasonably well, and present opportunities for career advancement down the line.
“I’m a big believer in cultivating talent very early, finding young people who have tremendous potential, making them aware of opportunities, helping them gain access, and then working with them to figure out what their pathway looks like,” she says.
The organization’s flagship program is a tuition-free, eight- to 12-week course in geospatial intelligence. Students earn a weekly stipend of roughly $75 as they complete the training. They leave with the skills to collect, organize and curate data needed to produce maps, a competency in high demand across a range of industries, including construction, engineering and defense.
Having partnered with the NGA to recruit students from across the St. Louis region, Asuquo takes pride in the socioeconomic diversity of the program’s participants. She estimates that roughly 85% come from economically under-resourced communities, marked by limited access to financial services and high percentages of free and reduced-cost lunch recipients at school. The other 15%, she says, come from affluent environments and private schools, drawn to the program purely by their interest in geospatial science.
This exposure to socioeconomic differences is a great enhancement to the basic science that students learn at Gateway Global, in Asuquo’s view. She was a participant in the city’s desegregation busing program in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and credits that experience with shaping her ability to effectively negotiate cultural differences. In her current leadership role, she is eager to transfer these skills to Gateway Global trainees.
“We’re very intentional about our cohorts reflecting the full range of socioeconomic diversity in America,” she says.
Recently, Asuquo and her staff have added a set of stackable credentials to the geospatial intelligence course, covering topics like human geography and data analytics. And they have plans to offer courses in robotics and advanced manufacturing, cybersecurity and network security.
Meanwhile, efforts are underway to build the headquarters in North St. Louis. Asuquo is spearheading an $8 million capital campaign — Gateway to the Globe — with the ultimate goal of constructing a campus in the Hyde Park neighborhood, adjacent to the NGA West Campus. The campus is headquartered in the former Holy Trinity Catholic School, which is being renovated for Gateway Global.
Building one will house a 28,000-square-foot training center with state-of-the-art classrooms and computer equipment. Building two, across the street, will be home to an apprenticeship workspace. An additional half-acre of land in the Old North neighborhood has potential to offer other amenities like a simulation theater.
The state of Missouri already has contributed $5 million toward the development, and Asuquo is working every day to secure the remaining funds to fulfill her bold vision.
“We will use the St. Louis headquarters as a kind of launchpad,” she says. “Right here in St. Louis, we will have the geospatial hub of the world.”
Explore more stories of St. Louisans who are paving the way for geospatial careers for the next generation.
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