CO:Members Attend ATHENAtechne Hackathon
Memphis held its’ first ever women’s Hackathon late last month at the Fedex Institute of Technology in the hopes of “cultivating a positive environment for women in technology from across the region.” Molly Plyler and Christen Harper, two Dev Catalyst team members at theCO, attended the event which only lasted a short 24 hours.
Dev Catalyst Becomes CSforAll Member
“Support local change,” “increase rigor and equity,” and “grow the movement.” These are three things that one would see when first opening the CSforAll webpage. The CSforAll Consortium is a effort started by the National Science Foundation to make computer science accessible for all students nationwide. Recently, the organization has added Dev Catalyst, a program of theCO, as a new consortium member alongside big tech companies like Google, Dell, Facebook, and Teach For America.
Summertime Learning at theCO
When school lets out at the end of May, most kids head to the pool, play outside, and visit the beach with their families. But some parents may want more educational activities for their kids during the summer. Luckily for the Jackson community, theCO offers workshops and summer camps for kids with technological abilities to develop their skills and learn about robotics, microcomputers, and more.
Dev Catalyst Celebrates Its Fifth Annual San Francisco Trip
During the start of the 2017-2018 school year, high school students began applying to theCO’s Dev Catalyst program, a curriculum designed to cultivate and grow the abilities of students with technological talents in the greater West Tennessee area. Throughout the course of the program, nearly 800 students participated in one of three categories (Novice Web Development, Advanced Web Development, and Data Development) in order to learn teamwork skills, develop professional skills, network with tech professionals, and hopefully win the grand prize trip to San Francisco, California.
Dev Catalyst Alumni Spotlight: Steven Prescott, SP Creative
Steven Prescott is a standout alumnus of Dev Catalyst. Prescott began the program in 2013 under Vicki Deloach’s computer class at Madison Academic Magnet High School. The program was new to both West Tennessee and Prescott, but the product of a semester of work would lead to lifelong impacts.
Dev Catalyst was a brainchild of the founders at theCO who noticed a need for educational development.
For Prescott, Dev Catalyst created friendships and freedom.
Dev Catalyst Students Are Leaders in Our TechHire City
Jackson, Tennessee, along with seventy-two other communities across the nation, is a TechHire city. But what does that mean? For CO:member and local business owner Austin Thompson and theCO’s Dev Catalyst program, it means an opportunity to create opportunity for young tech talent in the area.
The TechHire initiative was created by the Obama Administration in 2015. The project, however, lives on today. Its main mission is to support the growing technology fields in the nation. Cities selected have shown dedication to supporting training for technology-related jobs and companies that strive to create a more diverse workplace. The initiative is currently under Opportunity@Work, a nonprofit organization designed to empower Americans in today's economic world.
Dev Catalyst Celebrates Another Great Trip to San Francisco
What happens in San Francisco doesn’t stay there. It impacts students far beyond their four-day trip to Silicon Valley.
The journey to the grand prize destination began with students competing daily by staying alert in Dev Catalyst classes and sharpening their skills. This was all in the efforts of students from eighteen West Tennessee high schools and one Vermont high school to complete in the annual Dev Catalyst final coding project. Project winners were awarded the chance to participate in the annual San Francisco trip amongst other prizes. Winners were announced in the annual Dev Catalyst Awardaganza featuring CO:member, Jackson Escape Rooms’ owner, and CBS’s Hunted reality TV winner Lee Wilson. Though in years past students have enjoyed the trip, this year's adventure was remixed to even further enrich each student.