Meet Bold Idea Mentor Kendra

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Meet Kendra Andersen, a consultant at Pariveda Solutions and Bold Idea Mentor. Learn about how her teachers introduced her to science in High School and what she is doing to bring that same impact to Bold Idea students.

What have you learned or gained from being a Bold Idea Mentor?

I've really enjoyed being able to work with younger kids again! I enjoy being able to look at computer science through the fresh eyes of someone new to it again and trying to learn how to help them understand it better.

What is you most memorable mentoring moment?

I've enjoyed being able to help a team of students figure out how to work together! Sometimes different students have varying strengths or skill levels and figuring out how to combine them for a project they all enjoy is a fun puzzle to solve!

How did you become interested in technology and programming?

I had a high school teacher to got me interested in engineering as a field. She was a great mentor to me and encouraged me to try challenging projects! Over the course of college, I was introduced to programming through a number of my classes and several design projects.

What did you study in college?

Electrical Engineering

What are some of your favorite hobbies or past times?

I enjoy swimming, biking, and doing art in my free time!

Is there anything you wish you could tell your younger self about coding?

I wish I could tell myself to try out coding at a earlier point in my life. It always seemed like a boy's thing in middle school, but that does not have to be the case!

What is it about Bold Idea's mission that really connects with you?

I really enjoy getting to introduce students to computer science concepts in a more creative manner than what they might experience in a classroom setting!

2020 Volunteers of the Year

Bold Idea is excited to announce its Volunteers of the Year for the 2019-2020 program year - Marissa Robinson and Nate Rabins. Their positivity, care for the students, passion for computer science education, and willingness to try something new make them indispensable to Bold Idea. Our ability to weather the unexpected this year and actually come out better is due in part to these two incredible volunteers.

Coding helped Jessica break out of her comfort zone

Hands-on learning in coding, presenting to an audience, and a supportive mentor gave Jessica the confidence to believe in herself. "As a person, I’ve definitely grown. As a coder, I’ve been able to think outside the box a lot more often and see things from different perspectives. All because I've been given more perspectives to look at things. It just made my creative self a lot more strong.”

Meet Soren: 9th-Grade Game Developer

Soren decided his future career in the 7th grade - game developer. It was his first year participating in Bold Idea’s weekly computer science program. Over two semesters Soren learned to design games and code them in the Javascript programming language. “That definitely got me thinking about how games are designed and how fun it would be to work on them,” he said. “I got to make my own game and see people have fun playing it. I shared it with a bunch of people at my school, and they all got hooked for a couple days. That was really fun.”