Dev Catalyst Students at theCOtoberfest

theCO held its fourth annual theCOtoberfest at the end of October. The event featured a Fortune 500 Teller Booth, Maker Demos, CO:bots students, and the CO.STARTERS Showcase. But the booth that seemed to have the most traffic was the Raspberry Pi(e) Booth set up by Dev Catalyst. Throughout the day, kids of all ages entertained themselves by practicing their coding skills and interacting with Raspberry Pis.

A few Dev Catalyst students helped theCO’s Educational Outreach Coordinator, Molly Plyler, facilitate the booth during theCOtoberfest. All three of the students first began coding when the Dev Catalyst program was employed at their particular school.

Coby Wheeler, a sophomore at Early College High said, “I went to Northside my freshman year and I thought that doing computer applications would be fun, and when I transferred to Early College I was told that I should try coding. At first I wasn’t sure if I would like it, but I started applying my time to it and it turned out that I was good at it.”

By implementing the Dev Catalyst program into their schools, the school district has been able to introduce countless students to the world of technology by holding competitions for high school computer science students and coaching local teachers in how to best present and teach the content.

Montellas Whiteside, a junior at Early College High School, says “My favorite part of coding is learning new languages. This year I learned four or five different languages like JavaScript. Coding is what I do in my free time.”

With a program like Dev Catalyst at their schools, students have the opportunity to be exposed to a whole new job market. Zachariah Hoyle, a junior at Liberty Technology Magnet High School, says “Someone suggested that I try coding before I was even in high school. Now, I could see myself becoming a computer programmer.”

Dev Catalyst and theCO are proud to be partnered with local high schools, and encourage students across the state to pursue their talents.