Four Kaneland students, part of an organization they founded called Computer Science After School, took a trip to Eminence, MO to educate the students of the town about computer science. The team won a Google RISE award and were awarded $20,000 to complete this project.
Advisor Anna Schwein, along with seniors Marshall Farthing, Stephen McCracken, Jack Grimes and team leader Nick Messina, started out by holding workshops at Kaneland Harter Middle School.
“The reason I applied for the grant from Google is because I believe that every student in every school should have opportunities in computer science,” Schwein said. “There are so many students with creative ideas, ideas that could make this world a better place and that don’t have a chance to learn about all of their options because their schools don’t offer computer science classes,” Schwein said.
According to Messina, they offered a more hands-on experience in which the kids worked with computer hardware, HTML, app inventor and processing.
“After finding success at the local middle school workshops, we moved our efforts to Eminence, MO. Eminence is a small town in the Ozark Mountains. The population is only 600 people, and the median household income is under $20,000 a year. We worked with students K-12 in school along with hosting after school workshops,” Messina said.
They were one of 30 winners globally and they are the only high school organization in the world to receive this award. They also the placed 1st at 2013 SkillsUSA which made them qualify for nationals in Kansas City, MO in June.
“Due to a shortage of computer scientists in the United States, we hosted a pilot program at Harter Middle School that provided hands-on workshops that gave students the opportunity to dive into the world of computer science. After completing the pilot program, we traveled to Eminence and provided some experience. Little to no kids there had much experience with computer science, so it gave them an opportunity,” Farthing said.
Not only did they teach students about computer science, but they also worked with the teachers of the school.
“We held teacher in-service days showing teachers that it was possible to include computer science into their curriculum,” Messina said.
Messina and Farthing will receive President’s Volunteer Service Awards at SkillsUSA National Conference for their efforts throughout this project.
“The 2013 Fox Valley Career Center community service project was truly an amazing experience. We introduced students to new technology and informed them of the career opportunities in computer science. Students really enjoyed what they were doing and many of them decided that they wanted to further pursue education in computer science. We played basketball with the 2013 Missouri Division 1 basketball state–champion Eminence Red Wings, made a ‘Harlem Shake’ video with the high school students and made plenty of new friends,” Messina said.
The four have really brought a change to the small town of Eminence. They will continue their efforts in teaching and inspiring students to further pursue a career in the computer science field.
“We plan on continuing this project by continuing our partnership with Google, establishing csafterschool.com as a non-profit organization. We have workshops planned for Kaneland Harter Middle School in Sugar Grove, IL and Eminence, Sarcoxie, Steelville and Cuba in Missouri,” Messina said.
The four were really impacted by the experience, as well.
“Missouri changed me more mentally than I thought, making me realize how much I haveand how little the children have,” Grimes said.
They will bring this experience with them everywhere they go in life knowing they made a change in a community.
“Missouri helped me realize how lucky we are up here with all our technology and how much we take it for granted,” McCracken said.
If you would like to learn more about Computer Science After School, visit their website at csafterschool.com.
