Mentor Profile: Meet Lucinda

Lucinda Krahl joined our mentoring team last fall and now supports ideaSpark students at The MIX. 

As a software consultant at Pariveda Solutions, Lucinda solves cool problems every day and codes full stack - a passion she brings to her team of 11-14 year olds each week.

Meet Lucinda...

How did you become interested in tech and programming?
I got interested in programming in high school when I took AP Computer Science. I had always liked math and puzzles, and I was told that programming was a creative combination of those two things. I’ve been hooked ever since.

What did you study in college?
I studied Computer Science and Theology at the University of Notre Dame. 

What are you working on now?
I am now a software consultant for Pariveda Solutions. I’m helping my client improve an internal transportation application, so I get to solve some pretty cool problems, and I get to code full stack (database, code, and UI)!

What have you gained from being a mentor? What was your most memorable moment while mentoring?
Through being a mentor, I have gained confidence in my own teaching skills, appreciation for teachers (wow they have a tough job), and a better understanding of the intellectual potential of young kids. They’re really smart! You just have to help them show that. My most memorable moment was probably when one student, who kept complaining about how boring a project was, started exploring with colors in CSS. And then the student said, “Hmm. This isn’t as boring as I thought.” That student will remember that feeling.

Is there anything that you wish you could tell your younger self about coding?
I wish I could tell my younger self that just because you’ve never seen a girl programmer on TV, doesn’t mean you can’t be a girl programmer.

Is there anything about our mission that really connects with you?
I really connect with Bold Idea’s emphasis on teamwork. There aren’t enough tech team projects at the elementary level, and I can tell that the students really grow in both soft and hard skills by solving problems as a team.

Mentor Profile: Meet Farida

Farida Bharmal mentors with the ideaSpark team at The MIX in east Dallas. 

She's also an Azure Technology Lead at Microsoft, where she ensures that Microsoft Azure products are easy for customers to use and troubleshoot when things go wrong. 

Meet Farida...

How did you become interested in tech and programming?
When I was growing up, computers were very new and expensive. I did not have a computer at home. But was always curious about it. The only way to get access to it was to enroll in engineering.

What did you study in college?
I received Bachelor's and Master's degress in computer science.

What are you working on now?
I am working on Microsoft cloud computing - Azure.

What have you gained from being a mentor? What was your most memorable moment while mentoring?
I gain satisfaction teaching these young kids practical programming. This skillset will last with them forever and can provide them a means of earning a living. One memory I have: When a kid understood a concept so well and challenged me on the output of a certain computer program. It felt like my job was done.

Is there anything that you wish you could tell your younger self about coding?
Computer programming needs a lot of patience to learn. I remember being in front of my computer night after night trying to create a small program. The satisfaction was immense when we got our software to run and do what we wanted. The hard work has paid off and I make a good living.

Is there anything about our mission that really connects with you?
I have seen in India that every corner of every street has a cheap computer training class. America is now my home. Being in this country for 18 years, I feel this country does not have that type of infrastructure to train young minds at a cheap cost. This is exactly what Bold Idea is doing. It's a noble cause. One cannot expect that every kid can pay to do a bachelor's or Master's in computer science. But one should expect that every kid will know the basics of computer programming and that is what Bold Idea is doing.

Mentor Profile: Meet Sara

We met Sara last October when Bold Idea and Women Who Compute of UT Dallas collaborated on a computer science workshop for girls. Now, we're happy to have Sara on our mentoring team, working with 11–14 year olds at our UT Dallas Arts & Technology location.

Sara is great at bringing in her front-end development experience to support her student team's website projects.

Meet Sara...

How did you become interested in tech and programming?
When I was ten, Neopets was really big among my age group. I learned a little HTML and basic photo editing skills using a program called Corel Paintshop Pro so that I could personalize my Neopets page! The interest stuck with me. I took a Multimedia class in high school, then during my first semester in college I added a computer science major to my degree plan.

What did you study in college?
In May I will be graduating with a BA in Arts and Technology and a BS in Computer Science from The University of Texas at Dallas.

What are you working on now?
I am currently working on the front end of two projects using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript/TypeScript. One project is accounting software with Trintech, where I am interning, and the other is related to jury duty and is for my senior capstone project with Tyler Technologies. I am also learning more about Android App Development.

What have you gained from being a mentor? What was your most memorable moment while mentoring?
I really enjoy working with the students and getting to see them having fun learning the languages that I write in every day! In particular, I loved the opportunity to work one-on-one with a student who missed the previous week and wanted to catch up with the lesson plan.

Is there anything that you wish you could tell your younger self about coding?
My intermediate schools did not offer computer science. I wish that I knew there were so many free tutorial videos online to help me learn whenever I want!

Is there anything about our mission that really connects with you?
The first time I interacted with Bold Idea was during a 'Girls Go Digital' event, which focused on introducing girls to computer science. That inspired and resonated with me!

Mentor Profile: Meet Karthik

Now in his third semester as a Bold Idea mentor, Karthik Velayutham mentors a small team of 13–15 year olds at the Frisco Athletic Center, who are just a few years younger than him.

Karthik is a Senior at Plano East Senior High School. With years of experience as a self- and school-taught programmer, he has his sights set on studying computer science in college. 

We're fortunate to have him on the Bold Idea team, and it's clear that he has a talent for engaging young students in coding.

Meet Karthik...

How did you become interested in tech and programming?
I became interested in tech and programming when my father first introduced me to computers as a young kid. I was hooked to the endless list of possibilities that I saw from the flux of binary. From then on I started learning C, Visual Basic, and other scripting languages.

What do you hope to study in college?
I'm planning on studying Computer Science with a double major in either Math or Statistics.

What are you working on now?
Right now I'm working with Rishabh on a cheaper, refreshable braille display that we hope to implement for visually impaired students.

What have you gained from being a mentor? What was your most memorable moment while mentoring?
As a mentor I've learned a lot about programming itself. Teaching students concepts that I once saw to be so simple helped me realize that I did not fully understand concepts to the full extent. My most memorable moment would be when one of my students at Frisco, Jack, jumped up in excitement of his code working after he debugged it all on his own.

Is there anything that you wish you could tell your younger self about coding?
I would definitely tell my younger self that the rubber duck method is the way to go.

Is there anything about our mission that really connects with you?
Teaching others isn't just a one sided thing. When we teach others and help them get better at something, we reinforce our own knowledge and begin to think in different perspectives that we may have not considered before.

Mentor Monday: Meet Claire

Claire is a software engineer at nThrive Monday – Friday and an ideaSpark mentor on Saturdays. Claire lends her programming experience to 5th and 6th grade students each week at the Frisco Athletic Center, who are now learning mobile app development. 

Claire is also an active Bold Idea volunteer, supporting fundraising activities, program design and even volunteer game nights.

Her passion for bringing computer science to younger students has made her a shining asset to the Bold Idea team!

How did you become interested in tech and programming?
My father is a computational chemist who writes software for the pharmaceutical industry. For as long as I can remember, he's given me tips and tricks for programming and anything computer-related. During the summer between 8th and 9th grade, his boss needed a large document transcribed using LaTeX. My dad used this opportunity to teach me my first bit of programming, and I spent that summer falling in love with code. 

What did you study in college?
I majored in Computer Information Systems, specialized in programming, and minored in Business Administration. While code is my true passion, I hope to one day bridge the gap between the technical side and the business side of projects and be the person who can speak both languages.

What are you working on now?
I'm currently a software engineer at nThrive working on healthcare software solutions. My specific product, XClaim, helps "clean" claims in order to improve the acceptance rate by payers, ultimately decreasing the amount the patient has to pay. 

What have you gained from being a mentor? What was your most memorable moment while mentoring?
I've certainly gained a respect for the kids while mentoring. They are so eager to learn and passionate about programming! If I had been this active that young, I would be much farther along now. I'm so inspired by them! My most memorable moment occurred after someone in my session had pushed back a lot about the necessity of functions. He maintained that it is actually easier to copy and paste the code over and over. Finally, a week later, he had a moment where he REALLY needed a function. Begrudgingly, he added one per our advice, and dropped the code in there. Later, while demoing the code for his classmates, I heard him say, "I can't imagine if I had to write that code in four places!! Look how big that function is!!" 

Is there anything that you wish you could tell your younger self about coding?
I wish I could tell myself to stick with it and pursue it on my own. Outside of my family, I had no resources for learning code, and when I hit high school, I was consumed by the idea of not becoming a dreaded nerd like my father. Turns out being a nerd is pretty cool, and it pays the bills!

Is there anything about our mission that really connects with you?
The thing that resonates the most with me is offering computer science education in areas that just don't. It's weird to me to think if it weren't for my father, I would have had no exposure to code at all, probably in my life. I would have majored in something else, gotten a different job, and never even known about this industry. Now that I *am* a developer, I can't imagine not being one. I want to share computer science with the world and let everyone know that anyone can code - all it takes is willingness to learn!

Every Coder Has a Story - Meet the Students Solving Our Everyday Problems

Dialexa, a Dallas technology research, design and creation firm, recently opened its doors to our Union Coffee ideaSpark team, giving students an inside look at real-world tech development. Organized by two of the team’s mentors, Dialexa engineers Luke Gordon and Christian Ayala, the event included a demo through Dialexa’s downtown-Dallas workspace and introductions with several engineers on staff. Most impressive was a walk through of the company’s hardware lab and a demo of several drones. 

The student team also had the opportunity to impress Dialexa, as well as their families, with 5-minute demos of their mobile app projects. Here’s a summary of the projects, which each started with a relatable, everyday problem that could be solved using software.

Meet Elliott — Connecting teachers to substitutes

“What’s one problem that every school faces? The subs don’t know what to do,” 5th grader Elliott of Dallas starts out his pitch. His solution - a mobile app interface for teachers to share lesson plans and substitutes to plan out their school day. The app is called ‘Teacher Station’ and the benefits would also reach students, who could have a more productive day, as well.

Meet Damian — Making sleep time more peaceful

Damian, a 5th from DeSoto, shared that it’s often hard to get to sleep when irritating sounds, like air conditioners, TVs or dogs, are heard in the background. His mobile app allows users to select from a playlist of peaceful music to drown out the unwanted noise, while setting a timer for the music’s duration. 

Meet Fallon, Meredith and MaKayla — Answering the question “What do I wear today?”

The team’s three girls, who range from 4th grade to 9th grade, agreed on one common problem: With the ever changing weather in North Texas, every morning offered the same challenge of deciding what to wear based on the weather. And simply knowing it was 50 degrees outside didn’t offer much help. Each girl took a different approach to the solution in her own mobile app - from pulling external weather information into the app’s back-end system to matching a user’s wardrobe to the temperature and offering options.

We also interviewed the team early in their ideation phase to follow the problem-solving process:

Mentor Monday: Meet Cassio

A web developer at Kiandastream, Cassio Cristovao volunteers his time each week mentoring Bold Idea students at Rosemont Elementary. 

Meet Cassio...

How did you become interested in tech or programming?
Since little kid I was interested in electronics and curious to know exactly how they work. The first time I used a computer, I was really amazed with what it could do. I remember being taught how to draw in paint and since then my interest has been just rising. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the opportunity to take any programming classes in my high school, but I was able to find a few books about C programming and started teaching myself. But, that didn’t last for long. Well, I guess after that, the rest its really history.

What did you study in college?
I got a degree in Computer Information Technology with a minor in Geography from TCU.

What are you working on now?
My current project is a music streaming service, very similar to Spotify I’m working as a web developer but have designed most of the service itself.

What have you gained from being a mentor? What was your most memorable moment while mentoring?
It has been a really good experience, being able to teach kids how to code and interact with them. It made me realize how can I impact a new generation of young coders and spark their creativity. I really enjoy and look forward on keeping doing so. Everything has been a great experience so I would say just the fact that I’m there and interact with these kinds of very different backgrounds - it's already a memorable moment in itself.

Is there anything that you wish you could tell your younger self about coding?
Well that is interesting - I would say to keep on pursing the dream. Frustrating times will come but hard work always pays off.

Is there anything about our  mission that really connects with you?
Yes, empowering young minds is a mission that strikes me as a great opportunity to pass our knowledge to the younger generation. This is something that I look forward to and something I wish I was exposed to at a younger age.

Every Coder Has a Story - Meet Ella, Issac, Muhammad and Adrian

A website can offer a new approach to solving problems. That’s what the elementary team at the Frisco Athletic Center is learning this semester in ideaSpark. The team, comprised of Ella, Isaac, Muhammad and Adrian, have tackled school bullying and encouraged reading in their team website projects. The students as a team have learned to discuss problems they face, ask questions on what they don’t know, wireframe their webpages using pencil and paper, and build webpages using their new HTML and CSS skills.

Book recommendations

Like many kids their age, this team gets excited about all things Star Wars, Minecraft and Pokemon Go. That sparked an idea to create a website that recommends books to kids based on their interests. Ella is in charge of the homepage, and she’s using her design and CSS skills to make an engaging landing page. Users start by selecting their interest, which will direct them to a student page with books on that topic — Minecraft (Adrian), Star Wars (Isaac) and Pokemon Go! (Muhammad). 

Here is a video of Issac describing the team's website project:

All four students on the team are most excited about the design part, which uses CSS or cascading style sheets.

“I like to style the websites. So after we make them, we get to design them. I use CSS and we type in the code for it and play around with it,” Ella said.

“I’ve enjoyed that I could make other things, like color the words or put things in the middle. I can make the background a color, make things move when I hover over them or bring people to other pages when you click on them,” added Adrian.

In their first project together, the team tackled school bullying with each student taking a different topic like verbal abuse or cyber bullying. 

Mentor Monday: Meet Bob

Bob Timm — aka Robot Bob — is a software engineer at Bottle Rocket. This fall he joined the ideaSpark mentoring team that meets Saturdays at Bottle Rocket. His enthusiasm for student success in computer science is evident each week!

Meet Bob...

How did you become interested in tech or programming?
It was not until my early years in college, I took my first programming course in C. My professor gave us challenging and open-ended problems, mostly in the form of games. At the time I was on track for an Electrical Engineering degree and decided after taking that one class to change my major to Computer Science. Around this time, I purchased my first BlackBerry and became obsessed with building simple games on mobile. The year was 2009 and the iPhone was soon to be announced. It was at this time I decided to become a mobile developer, and have done it ever since!

What did you study in college?
Computer Science and Business

What are you working on now?
I am a Software Engineer at a great company in Addison, TX called Bottle Rocket. We build spectacular mobile experiences for some of the world’s largest and most recognized brands. Some of the apps I have worked on include the Coca-Cola Freestyle Android app and Starwood Hotels for Android.

What have you gained from being a mentor? What was your most memorable moment while mentoring?
I enjoy helping students find what drives them. Each student is different and is passionate about different activities, whether that be graphical design, sports, games, reading, etc. Finding unique ways to tie their interests to Science is what I really enjoy. My favorite moments during class are when students have that “aha” moment. It is always a great view to see a student become excited about gaining new knowledge.

Is there anything that you wish you could tell your younger self about coding?
Start at an earlier age! Get part time jobs and internships as early as possible in fields related to your interests. College will have much more perceived value if you understand how to apply topics you learn in class to work experiences you have already had.

Though mileage will vary, I took time off from school to work on apps for Android and iOS. Returning to school for my Computer Science degree, I had no issues coding in my classes. This allowed me to fully absorb the scientific concepts my professors were teaching.

Is there anything about our mission that really connects with you?
“We are all born with a desire to create.”
I was born with a desire to create. From legos, painting, wood working to the performing arts, these activities have filled my entire life. Programming has only recently become a new creative outlet. I have the chance to create anything, everyday.

Mentor Monday: Meet Bill

A senior engineering manager at Bottle Rocket, William (Bill) Francis has mentored young coders since our ideaSpark program started in early 2016. Since that time, he has worked with student teams at our UT Dallas and Bottle Rocket locations. He even supported his mentee Audrey, age 11, as she published her mobile app 'Animal Rescue' on the Google Play Store - our first student to do so. (Download the app for free on the Play Store). We are honored to have this experienced software engineer with a passion for student innovation on our mentoring team. Meet Bill...

How did you become interested in technology or programming?
When I was 11, I decided I wanted to make my own video game. Upon investigating, I discovered doing so necessitated I learn programming. So I talked my parents into a TRS-80 under the premise it would be useful for bringing my grades up. It actually did kind of the opposite. In a few days I was hooked on programming and proceeded to stay up till the wee hours of the morning most school nights learning to code -- at least until my mom caught on. In the end though, it all worked out as I now make my living as a software engineer.

What did you study in college?
After graduating from high school, I joined the military. I spent six years as part of the Military Intelligence Brigade working on both software and hardware in places like Korea, Italy, and Germany. After the army I attended University of North Texas where I earned a degree in Information Science.

What are you working on now?
Presently I work on a video delivery app for big brands like NBC, Game Show Network, and the Dallas Cowboys. Some of the projects I've lead include the Chick-fil-A App, Coke's Freestyle App, BET, and Fox News.

What have you gained from being a mentor? What was your most memorable moment while mentoring?
For me, being a mentor has given me the opportunity to see in the students that same passion I once had for computer programming. Selfishly, its almost nostalgic for me -- a way to relive some of what to me as a child was a magic, life-shaping event.

One of the most memorable moments for me as a mentor was getting an email from a student's mother asking if I'd be available to meet for a session outside of the normal hours. Her daughter was really excited about and enjoying the app we were building and due to a conflict during the normal scheduled class period was afraid she wouldn't get the chance to finish it. It just so happened I was available and I was very pleased to be able to help a young person build something she was passionate about and proud of.

Is there anything that you wish you could tell your younger self about coding?
Take the time to dig in and learn as much as you can before banging out the code. Sometimes its hard because its easy to get excited about bringing your creation to life, but there is a lot of value in gaining a level of understanding before typing that first line of code.

Is there anything about the Bold Idea mission that really connects with you?
Coding is empowering regardless of age, race, or gender. I love the idea that I am able to help a young person leave a thumbprint on the world we all share. When I see that spark of an idea grow into a creation that ends up in the app store I can't help but be excited for the students.  

We live in a world where at the click of a button a young person can make their app available for download to millions of people all around the globe! What could be more exciting than having even a small hand in the next generation of makers? I feel like the kids I get the honor of working with today, are some of the engineers that will grow up to shape tomorrow!

Mentor Monday: Meet Stan

A VMware platform engineer, Stan Dorsett mentors our 4th – 5th grade team at Rosemont Elementary in Dallas. In fact, Stan was an early advocate for bringing Bold Idea to his children's school in their North Oak Cliff neighborhood, enabling Bold Idea to start serving students in Dallas ISD. We're now lucky to have Stan on our mentoring team and to work with his son Malcolm each week.

Meet Stan...

How did you become interested in tech or programming?
My Dad was an electrical engineer, so I always had electronic kits and other STEM toys around as a kid. Dad brought home a Commodore C-64 computer when I was in high school and I was hooked.

What did you study in college?
I took some junior college classes on an electrical engineering track, but I didn't follow through with college. I instead learned to operate printing presses as a trade and worked in that field until I jumped back over to computers as a career in my late 20s.

What are you working on now?
I work on automating cloud infrastructure for VMware customers. I really enjoy working with rapidly changing technologies and the thrill of learning something new almost every day.

What have you gained from being a mentor? What was your most memorable moment while mentoring?
It is easy to forget the frustration you feel when you are first learning a thing. I enjoy encouraging the students and trying to help them staying positive through that initial frustration. It is fulfilling to see them push through and finally see them figure the thing out.

Is there anything that you wish you could tell your younger self about coding?
I wish I would have stuck with my initial love of computers, but I still feel fortunate to have circled back around to it as I did.

Is there anything about our mission that really connects with you?
The feeling of involvement with kids in my immediate community and the classmates of my children is awesome. I feel thankful to have a program like this available in their school and am grateful for all the other mentors that give of their time to make it a success.

Mentor Monday: Meet Nicki

A consultant at Pariveda Solutions, Nicki Hames has mentored with ideaSpark since the program started. She also lends her experience by training new mentors and contributing to our program design. Nicki's enthusiasm for mentoring young coders has encouraged many of her Pariveda colleagues to also volunteer.
Meet Nicki...

How did you become interested in technology and programming?
My mom and dad both had backgrounds in engineering and computer science. They worked at a large technology company so our family has already been oriented in that direction.  I took AP Computer Science class my freshman year in high school and enjoyed the logical processes and problem solving.  It wasn't until my sophomore and junior year in college when I was doing a lot of data analysis for Psychology research that I was involved in that I realized how much I liked that way of thinking.  I haven't looked back since.

What did you study in college?
Double majored in Psychology and Women's & Gender Studies and minored in Computer Science

What are you working on now?
Currently, I am a Consultant at Pariveda Solutions.  I am stationed at a large, multi-national real estate client, working on a custom web application.  We are in the process of integrating this system with their accounting systems.

What have you gained from being a mentor? What was your favorite experience?
One of the most gratifying moments from mentoring the kids was seeing them realize they could actually solve the problem.  There would be this lightbulb that would go off, and then you would see their confidence continue to grow throughout the semester.  It's great knowing that I could play a part in that.

Is there anything you wish you could tell your younger self about coding?
More so, I  wish I could tell my younger self to stick with it.  I stopped exploring computer science after my freshman year of high school mainly because of my perception of the stigma of women in tech.  My class was filled with all boys and taught by a male teacher.  I didn't really have any examples of women succeeding in computer science.

Is there anything about Bold Idea's mission that really connects with you?
I really enjoy being a part of the process to 'empower young minds.'  I think the greatest gift we can give to children is education and problem solving so that they have the tools to make their own decisions and shape their own path.

Mentor Monday: Meet Rishabh

A senior at Plano East Senior High School, Rishabh Thakkar has been an ideaSpark mentor since the program started in January. This semester he's one of the veterans with his friend and fellow mentor, Karthik - both serving at the Frisco Athletic Center. Bold Idea is lucky to benefit from his passion and experience. Over the summer Rishabh also helped design the mobile app projects for our students ages 10–14 as part of our Program Design Team. Meet Rishabh...

How did you become interested in technology and programming?
My interest in technology and programming began when I first learned about autopilot on airplanes. It really sparked my interest in automation and machines. I pursued that interest through middle school and now high school in learning the programming behind automation and robotics. 

What do you want to study in college?
I want to major in Computer Science and minor in Electrical Engineering. 

What are you working on now?
Currently, I'm working on a website/communications platform to allow developers and consumers to directly connect. Also, I'm continuing work on my Room Mapping Robot and utilizing drones to perform the task. 

What have you gained from being a mentor? What was your favorite experience?
Being a mentor really gave me the opportunity to inspire the upcoming generations to develop the similar interests I had when I was younger. There wasn't a specific memorable moment rather it was a collection of those excited faces I got to see when the kids figured out a working solution to their projects. 

What would you tell your younger self about coding?
I'd love to tell my younger self to pursue that interest in coding and technology earlier than I did. I didn't really pick up programming till late middle school. It would have been great if I started a couple years earlier. 

How does the Bold Idea mission connect with you personally?
The mission connects with me in a way by showing me that literally anyone has the opportunity to learn and do anything these days. It is just our job to seize it like these kids are by participating in Bold Idea.

Mentor Monday: Meet Elaine

A long-time Bold Idea volunteer, Elaine Torres is a mentor with a team of 7–10 year old ideaSpark students at the Frisco Athletic Center. She's also a member of the Bold Brigade (our brand ambassadors), lending her digital marketing talents.

Meet Elaine...

How did you become interested in programming?
I took the convoluted approach to tech and programming. Initially my interest was in art. Traditional art, you know paint, drawing, sketching...etc. It wasn't until I discovered that I could take my drawings and convert them into digital pieces that I began to discover my love of technology.

Enter the Emerging Media Program at UT Dallas. This was something that was life changing for me because I discovered that I could combine my love of the arts with digital design. I grew fascinated with the "how" and the "why" the digital programs I was using were doing what they were doing and this led me to discover my admiration of the programming side of things.

What did you study in college?
In college I majored in Liberal Arts, and then at UT Dallas, Emerging Media Arts & Communications.

What are you working on now?
Right now I help other businesses with their digital design and marketing needs.  Current projects include: A redesign of my current website, and assisting with the digital marketing for Bold Idea, and another technology group called Digital Dallas.

What have you gained from being a mentor? What was your favorite experience?
So much. I have always loved being a mentor. I have worked with children prior to my connecting with Bold Idea, and just love their energy and enthusiasm. I have taken that enthusiastic mindset into my own life and learned to "think like a kid" when it comes to entrepreneurial ventures. They are all in with everything they do, I try to do the same.

My most memorable moment ha ha...Has to be raining tacos. I worked with two little dudes (who shall remain nameless) to try to help them create an app or game that would bring awareness to recycling. That was the task, what they ended up with was creative, but didn't really bring awareness to recycling. One boy tried to stay on task, and the other well he had a desire to create a video with raining tacos everywhere and explosions, and space, and car crashes...and well I'll let you guess how their project ended up. While they didn't complete the assigned task, I noticed that they both had a creative streak that they might not have discovered were it not for this program. They worked together to create raining tacos, in space, with no car crashes caused because of the tacos everywhere. George Lucas would be proud.  

Is there anything you wish you could tell your younger self about coding?
OH man so much. I was in a class in 7th grade that taught us DOS to create pictures on the computer...(totally just aged myself there) and I would tell myself to do MUCH better in that class than I did. Who knows what kind of 'THINGS' I could have created.

Is there anything about Bold Idea's mission that really connects with you?
The connection with the next generation of coders, designers, and technical minds connects with me. Children have so much potential and they are amazing little sponges. The more good stuff we put into them, the greater our world could be.

Mentor Monday: Meet Jennica

Jennica Drewe has served as a Bold Idea mentor since we started testing ideaSpark last year. She's also been a driving force on our Program Design Team and recently a mentor trainer. We're excited that she'll be mentoring ideaSpark students in 3rd – 5th grade at UT Dallas again this semester.

Meet Jennica 

How did you become interested in tech or programming?
I have always been interested in tech because my big brother is a gamer and always had a computer or console to play video games on. There is a 6 year age gap between us but video games were always something we could bond over. I became interested in programming when I became a technical writer at Texas Instruments. Programming basics are a big part of what I do on a day-to-day basis and learning some other languages has really helped me.

What did you study in college?
In college, I studied journalism with a concentration in public relations. I also studied Spanish and political science.

What are you working on now?
I am currently working at Texas Instruments as a technical writer, and I am the project lead for our team's staffing company, Brightwing.

I work on a lot of different projects. Everyday I work on the technical documents for about 7 different groups at TI. That includes editing, formatting and creating some graphics. I also work on our standards document, help test new software applications, and help train new team members.

What have you gained from being a mentor? What was your most memorable moment while mentoring?
I have enjoyed getting to see students grow during the semester. We really challenged our students at UTD to work with new people and it was amazing to see how surprised they were when they enjoyed working with someone new.  My most memorable mentoring  moment was watching my students present their projects in front of everyone at Demo Day and to see how far they got with their projects.

Is there anything that you wish you could tell your younger self about coding?
Think of coding like a puzzle, and it will be a lot more fun when you have to debug!

Is there anything about our mission that really connects with you?
I love that Bold Idea seeks to empower students through code. By being an ideaSpark mentor, we get to teach students so much more than code. It is quite an experience to see a shy student present their project in front of a huge group of people they haven't met before. That is pretty empowering.

How I Started Programming

By Krithika Suresh

I've never written an article before, but I wanted to share my experience with programming. I think it will show a different perspective on how people become involved in computer science. I was first introduced to the idea of coding when I was young, probably around twelve years old. I was playing online games, and I noticed that other "regular" people like me could make websites using programming. When I say regular people, I mean people who don't professionally program for a living. A friend of mine showed me a webpage that she made for a group she had in an online game, Neopets. It was simply made in HTML, but I was in awe that she made it. I wanted to make one myself.

Excited by the idea of making a webpage, I remember trying to learn, using resources like CodeAcademy. I ended up making a simple webpage in the beginning for my own group I decided to start - I don't remember now what it was about. I wasn't able to meet the high standards I had set for the way the webpage should look as I tried to improve. After confused attempts using CSS, I eventually moved on without looking back.

Fast forward several years to high school, I participated in a psychology research lab that required me to learn how to do some basic coding for the online questionnaire program. Even though the language was specific to the research and wouldn't be useful elsewhere, I didn't mind learning it. Then I realized that coding was something I enjoyed. I would be working on the research project for hours - changing the code, testing it, seeing how bad it was and fixing it again, and it would feel like no time at all.

It's important to know whether you enjoy programming when deciding whether or not you want to be in the computer science field. I think coding is fun whenever you know what you're doing. That's probably why I discarded the idea of it when I was younger, but I hope that other young ones have the support they need when they try coding out for the first time.

So now, as a freshman in college, I'm pursuing a degree in computer science. There is a learning curve, but this year I've become more familiar with all the different branches of computer science that one could go. I'm looking forward to exploring my options.

2015: A Year of Growth for Bold Idea

2015 has been a remarkable year for Bold Idea.

This time last year, our organization was just an idea to help a new generation learn how to build technology through code. Embodying the spirit of our mission statement, we spent most of 2015 building a team to make our own bold idea a reality. Support from our donors, partners, volunteers, family and friends this year has been invaluable. As the formative year of our organization, we needed people to not only believe in our mission statement but to also support and embody our values.

At Bold Idea, we are passionate about developing and empowering young minds toimpact their world together as builders of technology. That’s why our mentors work alongside them to develop their skills in coding, computer science, teamwork and problem solving. As a result, our most creative and passionate minds work as young coders today and become bold leaders tomorrow.

We strive to design programs that further this vision.

• Our collaboration with AT&T and Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas in 2015 allowed us to pilot our first multi-day workshop with a focus on web development for social good – Geek for Good.
• In January we launch a new Bold Idea program: ideaSpark, providing 1st-8th grade students education in computer science for community problem solving.

And we’re not doing it alone. Over 25 volunteers have signed on to mentor students and support program development. We also have support from tech companies like Bottle Rocket and VMware, community groups like the Frisco Parks & Recreation Department and Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas and university programs like UTD’s School of Arts, Technology and Emerging Communications.

We hope you will continue to support Bold Idea in 2016 - both as a financial partner and an advocate in the community. We are looking forward to another year of growth for Bold Idea, and another year of inspired code from our students.

On behalf of all of us on the Board of Directors, THANK YOU and best wishes in the new year!

- Ben

Expanding STEM: Why Language Arts Has a Place in Computer Science Education

By Kris MacKay

The original mantra of Reading, Writing and Arithmetic has become too limiting. Students need to expand their knowledge of science and apply it to the world around them. By expanding student lessons using STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), basic facts about science and mathematics are reinforced with problem-based learning exercises, often in a team environment. Computer programming has been used to simulate planet orbits to illustrate Kepler’s law and create your own space program, for example.

However, coding projects that support teaching in fields of study are not limited to science and math. For example, a game from the 70’s, Oregon Trail, was designed by three people to teach school children about the realities of 19th century pioneer life on the Oregon Trail. The game combined computer programming and social science. In a similar fashion, history students can build components for different regions in time using computer applications such as web pages or MIT Scratch. Other projects might include A.P. World History students constructing lessons for chapters on the Persian Empires, the Silk Road trade routes or Sub-Saharan African societies. The hybrid solution of programming and social science adds “A” (Arts) into STEM to offer students STEAM as a method to reinforce learning.

This can also be used for English class to explore literary topics. Students have studied “Romeo and Juliet” by acting out scenes with original or altered endings. Rather than have students build projects and memorize lines, they can share their work and variations with others in digital formats. Imagine if Mercutio had avoided the fight in 'Romeo and Juliet.' What words would Mercutio have said instead of "Ay, ay, a scratch, a scratch; marry, 'tis enough...No, 'tis not so deep as a well, nor so wide as a church-door; but 'tis enough..A plague o' both your houses!"?

STEAM opens a world of possibilities - not only for students but also for technical and non-technical teachers to discover, explore and learn.

Check out:

• Planetary Orbit Simulator http://astro.unl.edu/classaction/animations/renaissance/kepler.html
• Kerbal Space Program https://kerbalspaceprogram.com/en/
• Oregon Trail https://archive.org/details/msdos_Oregon_Trail_The_1990
• Romeo and Juliet Scratch project https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/2657449/

My Programming Story

When I was a little kid, one of my favorite computer gam tha I played was Age of Empires. It’s a war strategy game based on events that happened in the ancien worl. Every country has a special arm, and you can be the king of the country you choose when you start the game. You will develop the country in any way you want. You can ally with other countries and trade with them. But the most fun part is starting a war. Because of Age of Empires, I became interested in the virtual world inside he omputer. I wanted to create one of my own games. Therefore, I chose Computer Engineering as my major in UTD.

About two years ago, I started to learn programming online by myself. Programming is a lot harder than I thought, and more boring than just playing the game. The computer is like a baby. You have to teach him everything you want him to know. What he will do is exactly what you tell him to do. Once I even hoped he would get smarter and be able to predict what I am going to tell him to do and the do it.

In the hope of making my games, I am still learning programming and have made many friends in this field. Although it’s a really small game, I still remember the excitement after I made the game tic-tac-toe by myself. I think there are infinite possibilities in programming, which makes it one of the easiest ways to create something. Programming is like solving math problems: here are many different ways to get to the final answer. With friends, I can always get different thoughts. And knowing what other peopl ar thinking ith the same question can really help me think n a different level.

I still have a long way to go, both in my degree plan and in my skill level of programming. Hope we get better every day!

ideaSpark Fall Preview

Bold Idea has been hard at work over the past five months building ideaSpark — our after-school program that combines education in computer science, coding and community impact.

This fall semester we're offering 1st – 8th grade students a preview of the program — for free. Parents are welcome to sign up their kids for one or multiple Saturdays. Learn more