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.

When deciding the recipients of this award, we always consider the volunteers who were crucial to our success for the year. Marissa and Nate went above and beyond in their contributions to Bold Idea at a time when we needed support the most. Their positivity, care for the students, passion for computer science education, and willingness to try something new make them indispensable to Bold Idea.

Outstanding mentors

Marissa and Nate, both software engineers at Plano-based Alkami Technology, started as volunteer mentors with Bold Idea. Both students and mentors have commented on their great interactions with them. Approachable, easy-to-work-with, passionate, and fun were words we heard a lot.

“Hrithik always mentions how Nate helps and encourages him in coding. Nate is a positive role model and an outstanding mentor who goes above and beyond in providing a great learning experience for kids,” said one parent in December 2019.

"Marissa has great energy and a lot of good ideas on how to motivate and engage the kids. She is always happy to take the lead and do what needs to get done," said an Alkami mentor that month.

Team Captains who led a major change

In January, they stepped up to lead their program site as co-Team Captains. After a month and half of weekly sessions, our program came to a halt. Due to COVID-19 precautions, we were no longer able to meet students in person. It was an uncertain future, both in the short and long term.

While we considered every possible change and delay in our program, Marissa and Nate stepped up to suggest online mentoring and distance learning as an alternative. Their attitude was: “Let’s try this. What do we have to lose?” And we followed their lead.

Together and in short time, we experimented with an online program, transitioning 25 Bold Idea students in Plano and Frisco to the new Bold Idea @ Home. Marissa and Nate created original materials, tried new methods, scrapped what didn’t work, and coordinated with parents and mentors.

What we learned from their work gave us confidence to try Bold Idea @ Home for 7 weeks over the summer - our first multi-week summer program ever. The program today is much different than we imagined in March, but that’s only because of Marissa and Nate’s willingness to learn by doing and find what works. (Learn by doing is one of Bold Idea’s values).

They are returning as Team Captains for Bold Idea @ Home this fall, and we couldn’t be more fortunate to have them on our team. Our ability to weather the unexpected this year and actually come out better is due in part to these two incredible volunteers.

Thank you, Marissa and Nate!

Meet Bold Idea Mentor Juan

Meet Juan Perez, a system analyst, custom shoe artist, and Bold Idea mentor. Learn how playing video games at a young age led to an interest in programming and a career at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.

What is something many people don’t know about you?
I help out with an annual event called Young Achievers Forum that takes place at the University of Texas at El Paso and at New Mexico State University. This event gives 1,000 middle school students a college day experience to learn about post-secondary education. I also have a side business as a Shoe Custom Artist. I specialize in customizing footwear such as sneakers, baseball cleats, and football cleats.

How did you become interested in technology and programming?
At first I got into technology because of video games. I played video games so much that I started to become interested in learning how to make video games. I found that learning how to program was the path I needed to take to learn how to develop video games.

What did you study in college?
I studied Computer Science with a concentration in Software Engineering at the University of Texas at San Antonio.

What are you working on now?
I’m a System Analyst at the Dallas Federal Reserve Bank and in my spare time I am a Shoe Custom Artist.

What have you gained from being a mentor?
I get great satisfaction from helping young students develop a new skill that will help them think about their future plans, their education, and career development.

What was your most memorable moment while mentoring?
When I saw kids come into the classroom very excited because they wanted to work on the next lesson and they couldn’t wait to continue their programming project. This showed me that Bold Idea gives students an opportunity to enjoy learning new things and make a difference in their education.

Is there anything that you wish you could tell your younger self about coding?
I should’ve joined coding summer camps and always practiced coding as much as possible.

What is it about Bold Idea’s mission that really connects with you?
Our Mission - Bold Idea develops and empowers young minds to execute bold ideas as a team through the power of technology. Empowering the minds of young kids. I want kids to have confidence to learn new things. I’m all for educating the kids because they are the future, and I would like to help be a part of guiding them to the right path towards success and accomplishing great things.

Meet 10-year old coder Dalia

This month, Bold Idea transitioned one of its after-school coding clubs to an online format. It was an experiment to understand if learning computer science would work well if the mentor and student are not in the same room. Bold Idea students at our Plano program site are now learning and interacting with their mentors and each other digitally.

We spoke with one of our youngest students, 10-year old Dalia, about her experience learning computer science for the first time and trying it from home.

What did you think of coding or computer science before Bold Idea? I thought coding would be tricky and difficult to learn.

What have you been the most proud of yourself in Bold Idea? Building the breakout game!

When is it most frustrating in Bold Idea? When a code does not work!

Tell me about working with the mentors. What is that experience like? Working with the mentors is amazing! The mentors are kind and make me want to code more. They all make the experience equally fun!

How has Bold Idea changed you? Bold Idea changed the way I think of Computer Science.

Why is it important that we bring this program to students your age? Students my age may think that they are too young to try coding. I learned that is not the case!

What do you want other kids, and even girls, to know about coding and computer science? Age or gender does not matter when it comes to learning how to code.

What do you believe about computer science that you didn’t before? I believe that Computer Science can be used to solve many complex problems.

What do you think of yourself and your abilities now? I am way better at coding and critical thinking than before I started with Bold Idea.

Meet Bold Idea Mentor Ashay

Meet Ashay Vakharia - a consultant at Pariveda Solutions and a Bold Idea mentor. Learn how watching his older brother sparked an early interest and eventual career in technology.

What is something many people don’t know about you? English is not my first language! I was born in India and moved to the United States when I was young. I learned English mainly through school and listening to others speak.

How did you become interested in technology and programming?
I have a brother who is four years older than me. When he was in high school, he took an introduction to computer programming class and came home one day to show my parents some of the work he was doing. It was a simple program that took some input and returned a pop up as an output. But I was instantly hooked and amazed that he was able to create that. It seemed like magic! After that, I became more interested in computers in general and knew that I wanted to take the same course when I entered high school. My brother continued to be an influence on me. He had an interest in technology and I always copied him. He ended up following another career, but technology ended up sticking with me.

What did you study in college?
When I entered college, I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to do. I had an interest in banking and programming. My first year was spent towards getting into the business school along with some intro classes for the Computer Science degree. It wasn’t until my second year that I decided to pursue a degree in both. I ended up graduating with a BS in both Finance and Computer Science. During my later years, I grew more attached to programming and knew I wanted to pursue a career in that field. The students I met and the courses I took made me realize that our future of computer programming is unlimited. I leveraged my financial background to land my first job at a bank as a developer for their internal applications.

What are you working on now?
My current work involves data analysis, reporting, and cloud architecture. Essentially, I am working with Microsoft products to better analyze lots of data for my current client so the client can create reports easier. These reports will be utilized to spot deficiencies in their business and improve their performance.

What have you gained from being a mentor? What was your most memorable moment while mentoring?
I’ve always enjoyed teaching others! Being able to guide others in learning new things brings me satisfaction. When I was younger, I used to volunteer at the local public library. There was a summer program that encouraged young children to read. I joined the volunteer program to organize prizes and events for the kids to participate. Bold Idea allows me to work with kids again. I want to say my most memorable moment was near the end of the semester when the kids asked to skip the typical ice breaker exercises at the beginning of a session and go straight into programming. They were so eager to continue working on their projects!

Is there anything that you wish you could tell your younger self about coding?
Practice, practice, practice! Studying computer programming is like studying medicine. It’s always changing and evolving. There will always be new things to learn so it is important to continue reading and always keep practicing. Don’t be afraid to fail! That’s what we have debuggers for 😊

What is it about Bold Idea's mission that really connects with you?
The goal of introducing students to technology and programming at a young age really resonates with me. That’s exactly how I got into the world. As I look at our society now, it’s a no brainer that technology will continue to increase in pervading our lives. It’s important to provide students with an exposure to this field early because it will lead to great success for them if they enjoy it. I strongly believe that education is the best way for a person to grow and mature and this is one of the better ways for me to contribute to that goal.

Meet Bold Idea Mentor Molly

Meet Molly Ilijevich - an Information Security Analyst at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, Master’s student, and a Bold Idea Mentor. Learn how Molly is helping 5th grade students build a growth mindset.

What have you gained from being a mentor?
I have gained patience in the teaching process. Since I do have knowledge in how to code, it is hard for me to keep my mouth shut and let my mentee experiment with things that are very obviously wrong to me. Sitting back, letting the kids experiment and mess up is how they retain the information; explaining to them why it was wrong before they even try is definitely not as memorable. It is how I learn, so I’m not sure why it took me awhile to figure it out. Also, the kids are so unperturbed about making mistakes, we laugh about it and move on. It is super refreshing to see.

What was your most memorable moment while mentoring?
Anytime something clicked for my mentee was obviously great. However, the presentations at the end will always be specifically memorable. The week before my mentee was a hard pass on presenting in front of her peers but the day of came and she decided to go for it. She was even excited to do it and worried that we would run out of time before she could go. The change in attitude happened because she told her mom about the presentation. Her mom suggested she get up and present since she had worked hard on getting the website to where it was. Just seeing how a parent’s interest and advice changed my mentee’s perception of something was really incredible.

What is something many people don’t know about you?
I’m a pretty open book and love to talk, so it is hard to point to something that a lot of people don’t know about me. One thing might be that I am focusing on learning to draw this year. I don’t really have a traditional creative outlet, so I am working on establishing one.

How did you become interested in technology?
I became interested in technology in high school. I was a kid when home computers and the Internet became prevalent but using them didn’t really instill a strong interest in me, outside of playing games on them. Programming robots in a computer science elective is what really sparked my interest. I still remember how excited I was when the robot I programmed won a dance competition held in the class. Since then, I have had a pretty healthy enthusiasm for all things technology.

What did you study in college?
I started out in Computer Science and ended up eventually switching to Information Systems. At the time, switching majors seemed to be the only decision. I hadn’t really developed a growth mindset in High School since I was “naturally smart.” When things got hard with programming, I figured I just wasn’t smart enough to learn the subject. After I switched over, I took some coding electives and realized I was wrong.

What are you working on now?
I am currently working as an Information Security Analyst. The role consists of more than analysis, with system administration and coding involved as well. At work, I am also involved in a group that is using Machine Learning to solve startup issues in applications. Outside of work, I am getting my Master’s in IT with a focus on Programming and Data Science.

Is there anything that you wish you could tell your younger self about coding?
That you can learn it. Trying and failing is just a part of the learning process, so get used to it and don’t give up.

What is it about Bold Idea’s mission that really connects with you?
I mentioned it before but the focus that Bold Idea has on a growth mindset really resonates with me. If I had established one earlier in life then I don’t think I would’ve ever given up on Computer Science. It is also really important to establish in kids now since it looks like the work landscape of the future, with all of the changes in technology and automation, is going to rely on people who are able to constantly learn new things and grow.

Coding helped Jessica break out of her comfort zone

8th-grade coder Jessica (left), with her mentor Daisy, thinks back on two years with Bold Idea

“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.”

When Jessica was 11, she didn’t think much of coding. “I thought it was just punching numbers into a computer.”

“I didn’t really think it was something you could do in middle school. I thought it was more for adults. I didn’t think it had anything to do with kids,” she added.

Jessica filled her out-of-school time with sports and music. She was most comfortable with activities where she already excelled, like basketball and choir, and was hesitant to try anything new.

But after hearing about Bold Idea and that it was for middle school students, Jessica thought she’d give it a try. “I kinda had an idea of what I wanted to do in my future but I wanted to see if there was more I was good at or interested in - in case that sparked my interest,” she said.

Jessica has participated in Bold Idea’s weekly computer science program for two years now. With hands-on projects like a website on animal adoption and supportive mentors like Daisy Izaguirre, a student at UNT Dallas, Jessica’s confidence and interest in computer science grew.

“I really didn’t think I could make things like websites and quizzes. It made me realize that I’m capable of more than I’ve limited myself to. It’s opened a lot of new doors for me - for my future and what I want to do and study. I think just because of that I can grow on it and make a job out of it,” she said.

Her proudest moment was her first presentation at Bold Idea’s Demo Day event. “I was just proud of what we had accomplished. I didn’t think I could go up there and talk in front of that many people about what I had made, so I thought of it as a milestone for myself.”

Since then, talking in front of people has become a lot easier for Jessica and given her the confidence to explain what she created and how she did it.

She traces a lot of that confidence back to the support from her mentors, who she’s seen impacted as well. “They’re like your biggest fan. They don’t give you the answer right away. They give you time to figure it out. Maybe they don’t even know the answer, so you have to figure it out together. I think that’s just like the best part. You’re not just learning something, they’re learning something they can carry too.”

Now as an 8th grader, what does she think of computer science?

“I think that computer science has a lot of different meanings, like coding for the home, getting rid of a virus, or creating new technology. It’s whatever you want to make or interpret it. And it’s a lot about creativity and imagination, because if you think about it - now days we have the resources to make anything with technology and computer science. So, it’s definitely possible!” she said.

“Now that I’ve done coding, it’s opened up a lot of new things for me. I’ve also gotten into baking and teaching other kids coding. Because I tried coding, it made me want to do other things, because I realized how much I liked it.”

Meet Bold Idea Mentor: Jordan

Meet Jordan Mason - a software engineer, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alum, and Bold Idea mentor. Learn how he went from a sports journalism career to the technology consulting team at Credera.

What is something many people don’t know about you?
Before my career in programming, I was a sports journalist. I’ve written for the Dallas Morning News, appeared on WFAA and Fox Sports Southwest, and produced highlights for ESPN just to name a few stops.

How did you become interested in technology and programming?
My first brush with coding was in a computer science class at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. I became interested in it as a career later in life when my brother completed a coding bootcamp and offered to show me the ropes.

What did you study in college? Journalism. That computer science class came the semester after I had just completed my internship at ESPN, so at that point, I wasn’t interested in pursuing a career in programming just yet.

What are you working on now?
For nearly two years now, I’ve been helping a retail client dip its toe in ecommerce, working on a variety of workstreams that include SEO enhancement, inventory visibility, ADA compliance, and implementing a system to reserve items online for pick up in store.

What have you gained from being a mentor? What was your most memorable moment while mentoring? Learning to code changed my life in a very short period of time, so I’ve wanted to pay that forward since getting my foot in that door. But building relationship with mentees and showing them someone who believes in them, and seeing the effect that has on them, has been the most rewarding part. My most memorable moment isn’t one – it was all the times I helped a mentee accomplish a task they didn’t believe was possible before we started the assignment.

Is there anything that you wish you could tell your younger self about coding?
All of the technology that fascinates you is mostly powered by a person and/or team that knows how to code. You can not only improve the technology that powers businesses and the world around us but you can help create it.

What is it about Bold Idea's mission that really connects with you?
Like I said, coding changed my life, so the opportunity to pay that forward was a no-brainer for me. If I can be the spark that helps a passing interest turn into a career for even one student then, for me, it’s worth every second.

Meet Soren: 9th-Grade Game Developer

“Having experience with coding has definitely made my high school year so far a lot less stressful, because it’s just one class I really don’t have to worry about.” - Soren Ingraham, 9th grade

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.”

In nine weeks, Soren and his team made a 3D version of the classic arcade game Asteroids. The player can fly around in a spaceship, shoot at asteroids, and try to protect a planet they designed.

“We had used up so much memory on the computer just on the asteroids, like 500 asteroids floating around, that all it was able to handle was just a plain white sphere for the planet,” he laughs.

Prior to Bold Idea, he had tried robotics at school and a little online coding, but never a lot of it - much less code his own game. “This has really opened my eyes to everything that’s possible with coding.”

Soren is still coming up with ideas for future games and writing them down in his journal. He’s tried to make a couple of them on his own and wants to build more experience in Javascript.

His main focus now is freshman year at TAG Magnet School, a Dallas ISD high school ranked as #11 in the nation by the US News and World Report '2018 Top High Schools in America’. Soren applied for this competitive school and was accepted.

Computer science is a required course at TAG, but Soren feels more than prepared to take it on. “Having experience with coding has definitely made my high school year so far a lot less stressful, because it’s just one class I really don’t have to worry about,” he said.

In fact, Bold Idea has given him the confidence and skills to help his classmates catch on to tough concepts, and he’s and connect with people who share his interests.

“It’s let me make friends with a lot more people - people at my school who are also interested in computer science,” he said.

Soren now mentors younger Bold Idea students in east Dallas and it’s clear he’s having an impact on them. “He is very helpful in every way,” said 6th grader Nadia Flores. Soren worked with Nadia this fall to code a website about an ice cream shop.

At TAG, he’s also taking an elective called Math Behind Games, where he’s learning how to apply concepts from math to different board games.

“For my project the past six weeks, I coded a simulation of a Monopoly game to figure out which spaces were landed on the most and the average revenue per turn for each property, so that was really fun. Jail was the space landed on the most, because there are four different ways to get to jail - speeding, landing on Go to Jail, chance and community chest. But the property where you’d earn money the fastest was New York I believe, because it was about seven spaces away from jail. That was really fun to do.”

Why learn to code when you’re young?

According to Soren: “It’s just becoming a more and more important skill as time goes on. In just five years, everyone must know at least a little coding. The earlier you learn, the easier it will be. Computer science can be really interesting depending on what you try. Show them (middle schoolers) the things that are fun, like making your own game, and that will get them interested.”

Our Donors Helped Us Level Up. Here's How.

Because our donors gave, Bold Idea leveled up this year. How great is that?!

Over 60% of our revenue comes from donors like you. As a result, we are serving our greatest number of students this fall - 106 - through weekly computer science learning and mentoring. (Check out our fall 2019 impact data).

Bold Idea is now better equipped to serve these students. With your financial gifts, we were able to:

• Invest in outcome measurement. We recently implemented CNM-pact, a data analysis and visualization software, to track, analyze, and report our data using a valid data collection methodology. Because of CNM-pact, our student outcomes are more easily tracked and more easily understood.

• Re-design curriculum and pilot digital badging. Our education director Ben refreshed our website development curriculum and wrote new coding resource guides. He also created new HTML, CSS and communication badges to help with measurement and keep students engaged.

• Up our printing game. We purchased a new high-efficiency printer, toner and paper. Every student this semester has his or her own learning materials printed in bright colors.

• Establish 5 program sites with 8 new multi-year partners. We’re now working with companies like Credera and The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, as well as community organizations like Margaret B. Henderson Elementary and Heart House. Our footprint has expanded to Vickery Meadow, far south Dallas, and east Oak Cliff.

• Purchase program supplies - like Bold Idea t-shirts for students and volunteers, sketch paper and colored pencils to wireframe projects, folders, rubber ducks, posters, and more.

• Expand our team. We now work with a contract grant writer to help us secure new funding from foundations.

• Sustain day-to-day operations. From internet and utilities to insurance and volunteer background checks - it’s all critical to building a sustainable organization.

Phew - that’s a lot!

THANK YOU for giving to Bold Idea - and in effect, supporting computer science equity in the north Texas community. Because of you, students like Elias and Sophie have a bright future ahead in technology.

P.S. How do you want to see Bold Idea grow in 2020? Consider making a gift this holiday season that’s meaningful to you. Donate at boldidea.org/donate.

A brighter future in 2020 starts with you

Because of your generosity this year, more Dallas students are using computer science to solve problems, build things that they want to build, and learn how computers are changing the world. Students like Elias and Megan are on the pathway to higher paying and competitive jobs in technology and engineering.

Help grow our capacity

Bold Idea is raising $3,000 during our end of year giving campaign - now through January 1. With your help, we can hire a program assistant in 2020 and fund expenses for the spring semester, like learning materials, posters, mentor training, and technology infrastructure.

This holiday season, consider making a one-time or monthly gift to Bold Idea so we can provide 300 students in Dallas with life-changing computer science learning and mentoring in 2020.

Together, we are investing in the youth of Dallas - our future technology workforce. Thank you for your generosity!

With gratitude,

Robyn

P.S. Support Bold Idea while you shop with AmazonSmile. It’s a simple and automatic way to support Bold Idea at no cost to you. Simply go to smile.amazon.com, select Bold Idea as your charity of choice, and then start shopping. Be sure to bookmark smile.amazon.com for future visits.

Meet Megan: Solving problems with friends makes coding fun

Bold Idea is not like a traditional classroom - and that’s what makes it fun, according to Megan, a Dallas 6th grader. When her mom signed her up in 3rd grade, Megan was excited but not sure what to expect. She pictured a classroom with students doing their own work and raising their hands when they needed help from a teacher.

“But it’s not,” she said. “It’s you and a partner. You get to have more fun than a classroom. You get to collaborate more, and there’s more problem solving. Because in Spanish you’re just learning words, and in English you’re just writing. You’re not solving anything.”

Soon after joining Bold Idea, she had her first problem to solve: Make a character shake in a simple MIT Scratch game. She coded the character to turn left 90 degrees and then right 90 degrees. But the action was so quick that the game user wouldn’t notice the movement. Megan solved it by adding a timing delay between the motion and then putting it in a loop, a computer science concept that repeats an action over and over again.

In her three years with Bold Idea, Megan has learned to embrace problem solving and seek help from her friends or a volunteer mentor. “I felt proud of myself whenever I was confused about something, got help, and then figured it out.” And she has a good response when frustrating problems do come up: “I try to stay calm and work it out. Sometimes I have to take a break.”

She also thinks it’s cool that the mentors do this kind of work in their jobs at Bottle Rocket. “I really like it,” she said. “I think it’s inspiring.”

Megan encourages her friends and other girls to try computer science. Many have signed up, and she feels that it’s brought her closer to those friends and helped her make new ones.

For girls at least, learning to code in elementary school is smart, according to Megan. At that age, they’re open to exploring lots of different activities until they find their ‘one thing.’ By high school, it’s too late, she feels. “If they never try it up to high school, they’ll never know.”

Among the many things she likes, computer science ranks high. “I feel like it can impact my future. It’s something I can do for a living - or I can do something else with computer science.”

Fall 2019 - ideaSpark Snapshot

By Ben Davis, Education Director

With Bold Idea, more Dallas students are using computer science to solve problems, build things that they want to build, and learn how computers are changing the world. In fact, our student participation has grown 20% this fall.

I’m excited to share our first quarterly impact report.

This is a snapshot of our ideaSpark computer science mentoring program this fall semester. Be on the lookout in January for a report on our overall student outcomes.

Together, we’re helping students start on a path in technology, from 5th grade to high school and beyond.

Read the Fall 2019 Snapshot.

Meet Elias: Computer Science Fuels His Creativity

Elias is a creative person. “I like coloring, drawing, painting - creative stuff,” said the Cedar Hill 8th grader. He joined Bold Idea’s ideaSpark program two years ago at his Dallas middle school. He had no idea then that he could be creative with computer science. But that quickly changed with his first project, a mobile app. “I got into it. Just - poof! It all came to me.”

Computer science has given Elias another creative outlet. Website development is his favorite of all his coding projects. Languages like HTML and CSS give him the freedom to design and create, he says.

“I think I’m most proud of myself when I’m being creative,” he said. “Technically, your whole life is based on creativity, and you use it throughout school and really everything.”

And that creative mindset will help students like Elias go far. In LinkedIn analysis, creativity topped the list of soft skills that employers are looking for in 2019. 

Every Wednesday Elias meets with a team of students and his mentors, volunteers from Pariveda Solutions and Texas Instruments. Many of the same people have mentored Elias since he started Bold Idea, like Nicki Hames. He said, “It takes a lot for the mentors to be here at middle school. It’s a privilege for them to be here. They get up in the morning, go to work, and get in their cars and drive themselves all the way over here. They care a lot.”

“For a long time, I thought computer science would be fun, and then I found this group,” Elias added.

While he couldn’t nail down a career choice when he entered middle school, Elias is now thinking about a job in computer science or psychology - careers where you can listen to people and design solutions. Next though, Elias feels confident that he’ll do well in a high school computer science class and wants to mentor students younger than him. 

Meet Bold Idea Mentor Victoria

Meet Victoria Summerville - a UNT Dallas business student and Bold Idea mentor. Learn how an early admiration for her dad led to engaging Oak Cliff students in technology today.

What is something many people don't know about you?
Something most people don’t about me is that I love helping people. It really makes my day when I’ve done something to help someone else, even if it’s small.

How did you become interested in technology?
My dad initially got me interested in technology. He’s always love airplanes and his job allows him to work in aviation as well as with the engineers who develop and create aircrafts for the military.

What are you studying in college?
I am currently studying business with a focus of HR.

What are you working on now?
I am working towards completing my bachelors then going into graduate school.

What have you gained from being a mentor? What was your most memorable moment while mentoring?
I’ve gained an increased in-depth understanding of diverse perspectives and personalities.

Is there anything that you wish you could tell your younger self about coding?
I would tell myself to start practicing at a younger age so I could have mastered it by this point.

What is it about Bold Idea's mission that really connects with you?
The younger generations are our future, and I think it is important to engage them into the advancing world of technology and I’m glad to be apart of an organization that supports that.

Meet Bold Idea Mentor Jonathan

Meet Jonathan Florentino - a software engineer, Dominican Republic native and Bold Idea mentor. Learn how he went from building computers at age 10 to the tech lead on an engineering team at Alkami Technology.

What is something many people don't know about you?
I was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic and moved to the United States as a teenager.

How did you become interested in technology?
I've been interested in technology from a very early age. My dad has been in the technology field as long as I can remember so I’ve been around computers all my file. I built my first PC when I was 10 years old. One of my earliest memories around programming goes back to modifying the source code of an old video game with Borland C++ back when I was 8 or 9.

What did you study in college?
I went to The University of Texas at Dallas and earned a Bachelor of Science in Telecommunications Engineering.

What are you working on now?
Currently, I am a Senior Software Engineer at Alkami Tehcnology. I’m the tech lead of one of our engineering teams responsible for our platform’s content management system and rules engine. I work primarily with C# and SQL in the backend and HTML/JavaScript in the front end.

What have you gained from being a mentor? What was your most memorable moment while mentoring?
Being a mentor has given me a deeper appreciation for the importance of understanding underlying concepts. As an experienced engineer, I sometimes lose track of the sheer amount of assumptions and connections I can make based on my knowledge and experience. Working with students that are brand new to the field and helping them understand programming and machine learning has been a great experience.

One of my most memorable moments happened during this current semester when I was working with a pair of students to help them troubleshoot a problem. I was having to debug the code with them to try and figure out what the issue was. As we were troubleshooting they were giving suggestions as to what could be wrong and telling me to try this and try that. I could really see that they were thinking through the problem correctly and the suggestions they were making were excellent things to try. It was great seeing things click and their gears working as we tried to solve the problem (which we ended up solving).

Is there anything that you wish you could tell your younger self about coding?
I wish I would have explored programming more as a kid. While I dabbled with programming during elementary school and high school it really wasn’t until college that I started to truly learn it get a passion for it. So if I could go back I would tell my younger self to explore programming more seriously.

What is it about Bold Idea's mission that really connects with you?
I was around the same age when I started programming as the kids I mentor. While I was fortunate to have a parent that could teach me, I certainly would have enjoyed having a program like this as a kid. So the fact that this is being provided to kids and helping them explore what is out there from a technology perspective is a mission that really connects with me.

Meet Bold Idea Mentor Caroline

Meet Caroline Bell - a data and AI consultant, STEM advocate, music performer, and Bold Idea mentor. Learn how a website competition in middle school led to a career in machine learning at Microsoft.

What is something many people don't know about you?
When I was 18, I performed in New York at Carnegie Hall with a International Choir. It led me to get a scholarship to do Music Performance in college, which I accepted for the first semester of college before switching major to Business.

How did you become interested in technology and programming?
When I was in 7th grade, my school offered a coding class in HTML. The following year, I helped my science class with a website competition. I was far ahead of the other kids since I already knew HTML. I loved that feeling of typing some lines of code and seeing my work come to life.

What did you study in college?
During undergraduate, I studied Marketing and Healthcare Management. I immediately went to Graduate School for my MBA, specializing in Business Analytics. My MBA gave me the skillset I needed to become more technical and let do my interview at Microsoft.

What are you working on now?
Currently, I am a Data and Artificial Intelligence Consultant at Microsoft. I am working on creating the machine learning behind a bot. I do other small things currently like workshops and helping companies transfer their data to the cloud. I work mainly with SQL, a way to query large databases, and Machine Learning, essentially all the statistics classes I’ve ever had wrapped in code, projects.

What have you gained from being a mentor? What was your most memorable moment while mentoring?
I was roughly these students’ age when I started coding. I wish I had this opportunity at their age. I’ve enjoyed being able to sit with a student and help guide them to the answer. The kids are incredibly smart, and it is amazing watching them solve their own problems. It reminded me about my love of learning and how the simple way of thinking things through can give you a clearer answer.

My most memorable moment was last semester with my students. At the beginning of the semester, some of the boys were new to the whole coding thing. By the end of it, they were putting their favorite things together on Scratch. One made a music video, and another told me a whole story through his project. I can see how these kids will be able to be successful in their future jobs because they tired thinking in a different way.

Is there anything that you wish you could tell your younger self about coding?
Growing up, coding was something my older brother did. I thought I wasn’t as smart as him and couldn’t do it. I had a passion for music, so I followed that instead and focused on theater, music, and foreign languages. As an adult, I would tell myself that ‘yes, I am smart’ and ‘everyone has a variety of skillsets that make them amazing’. I would push myself to curious about technology and to forge my own path without being afraid. The fear of failure kept me from embracing new things, like coding or machine learning. As an adult, the things I was passionate about can easily be applied to the work I do today. My unique perspective as a child allowed me to become a smart and slightly quirky adult.

What is it about Bold Idea's mission that really connects with you?
I have always been a strong supporter of STEM. As someone who grew up loving the arts, I also came from a hometown that was very tech heavy. I love how Bold Idea merges multiple interests into courses with coding and machine learning. There are a multitude of male and female mentors to help all the students be successful. I never had the opportunity to learn in such an environment as a child. This teaches kids far more than coding, it teaches them teamwork, thinking outside the box, and that yes sometimes turning it on and off again will fix the problem.

Meet Bold Idea Mentor Mae

Meet Mae Rock - an Alkami project manager, UTD alum and Bold Idea program site coordinator. In addition to having an awesome name, Mae uses her problem solving and efficiency skills to ensure that our Alkami program site runs smoothly each week. She rocks!

What is something many people don't know about you?
I'm the first person in my family to graduate from college.

How did you become interested in technology?
I've always been a "problem solver" and focused on efficiency - how to get the highest grade with the least amount of studying, how to travel to the most places with the least amount of money and PTO, how to make the most money with the least amount of work, etc. As I got more familiar with computers, I realized you could do a lot more with less if you used a computer as part of your resources, so I took Keyboarding and Computer Science in High School.

What did you study in college?
I went to UTD (woosh!) and graduated with a BS in Neuroscience.

What are you working on now?
I am a Project Manager working on Banking Software and Apps. I'm the one who gathers requirements from the client, translates them into technical work for the "doers" such as computer programmers, then translates what's been done back to "normal speak" for the client. It requires skills in organization and communication, and a lot of technical knowledge.

What have you gained from being a mentor? What was your most memorable moment while mentoring?I've learned to turn projects on their head and think about it from a completely different angle. When working with kids and working with people new to coding (or new to this specific project), you see how they approach challenges differently than you would, and that's a really good tool to have for my own projects and life. The moments that stick with me the most from Bold Idea sessions is when troubleshooting or debugging works out - everyone is so STOKED to have found the problem, put in hard work, and then see it FIXED.

Is there anything that you wish you could tell your younger self about coding?
Keep an eye on the news for up-and-coming programming languages, software, or hardware. The industry is changing all the time, and if you start learning about it early on, you may become an expert while most people aren't paying attention yet, and then that skill-set becomes exponentially more valuable.

What is it about Bold Idea's mission that really connects with you?
"Bold Idea develops critical thinkers, problem solvers and effective communicators who are proficient in core technology skills" - these skills are integral to any mature, successful person. Having the opportunity to be a part of cultivating these attributes for the next generation makes me feel involved and proud of the future.

Meet Bold Idea Mentor Thomas

Meet Thomas Crain, UT Dallas computer science student, future Microsoft intern, master lock picker, and Bold Idea mentor. See how empathy has made Thomas a valuable mentor.

”Understanding the emotions of the mentee is way more important than just knowing the answer as someone with a background in software engineering.”

Meet Thomas…

What is something many people don't know about you?
I’m really into lock picking! Locks are fun puzzles to solve while learning how to keep a steady hand and be patient. Like most puzzles, there’s a huge spectrum of difficulty, and it’s a great feeling popping a new kind of lock or a really hard lock. Plus, I’ll never have to pay for a locksmith!

How did you become interested in technology and programming?
Growing up, my dad took me to a conference for Geographic Information Systems users. Seeing and getting to play with software that helped power the navigation systems of a Mars rover really showed me that programming is the ultimate toolset. I’m lucky that I had opportunities like this to spark my passion for computing. I’m also really lucky that my high school had great programming classes that taught me everything from web development to digital electronics. That helped turn my passion and curiosity for computer science into actual marketable skills.

What are you studying in college?
I’m currently an undergrad at the University of Texas at Dallas studying computer science.

What are you working on now?
I’m currently working through schoolwork and learning web development on the side. This summer, I’ll be a software engineer intern at Microsoft.

What have you gained from being a mentor? What was your most memorable moment while mentoring?
I’ve definitely gained a greater sense of empathy from mentoring. Starting out, it’s easy enough to use your own knowledge and experiences as a crutch. You listen to the young coder’s problem, you diagnose the problem, and you give them the answer. It’s a trap that I’ve fallen into before. Understanding the emotions of the mentee is way more important than just knowing the answer as someone with a background in software engineering. Just giving them the answer without knowing the emotional context of their problem (frustration, confusion, panic, impostor syndrome, etc.) isn’t what mentorship is about. Empowering them to address and overcome those negative emotions is what really pays dividends in the long run.

I don’t have a standout most memorable moment, but watching some of the more hesitant young coders really open up over the course of the semester and become more confident in their own skills is awesome!

Is there anything that you wish you could tell your younger self about coding?
It’s okay to not feel passionate about coding all the time! There will be times when you’ve been working at something for a long time and it starts to feel like a chore. Hard work and perseverance are great, but knowing when to take a break is also a virtue. You’ll always be able to come back to the problem with a clear mind and motivation.

What is it about Bold Idea's mission that really connects with you?
It’s a bit specific, but I really like the usage of the word “empower” in the mission. “Empower” gives a sense that we’re doing so much more than teaching them coding. We’re also giving them the confidence to know that if they try something new, they can succeed in it! We’re giving them the courage to work through all obstacles that they face, no matter how hard! I just think that’s neat.

Meet Bold Idea Mentor Loveena

Meet Loveena Cherukunnathu, Bold Idea mentor, world traveler and data engineer. See how a high school programming class led to helping young girls write their first ‘Hello World’ today.

What is something many people don't know about you?
I love traveling and want to travel the world. I have been to 17 countries so far, which isn't a bad start.

How did you become interested in technology and programming?
I took a programming class as an elective in high school that used Alice. It is a drag and drop block coding platform where you can create scenes and stories. That was my first project and I was intrigued so I took another semester. We learned Java in the second semester and I was hooked.

What did you study in college?
Information Systems

What are you working on now?
I am a Data Engineer now. The past two years, I have been working on a cloud migration project.

What have you gained from being a mentor? What was your most memorable moment while mentoring?
I like mentoring because I get to learn new skills like Artificial Intelligence and review old skills like Python. Also, learning what children are into these days is always interesting...back in my day, Fortnite meant 14 days.

I have gained a lot of great memories with fellow mentors and students. I have 2 favorite moments.

Day 1 of Fall 2018 semester, there was a new student who had never done programming before. I helped her print her first "Hello World". That moment was memorable because it took me back to when I first typed those same words, it changed the rest of my life.

Second favorite moment was explaining binary to children and their parents at the Dallas ISD STEM Expo. Some parents were absolutely shocked by the fact that computer could only understand 1’s and 0’s. Watching their expressions change with the new knowledge and their eagerness to learn more was priceless.

Is there anything that you wish you could tell your younger self about coding?
Keep practicing.

What is it about Bold Idea's mission that really connects with you?
I like how Bold Idea is reaching out to children and introduce programming to them. I like the environment Bold Idea creates for the children. They get to create games and projects on their own with the knowledge they gained from doing hands on projects throughout the semester. Bold Idea plants the seed and the children come back year and year to learn more.

Meet Bold Idea Mentor Tyler

Meet Tyler Milner, Bold Idea mentor, pepper plant grower, and iOS architect. See how an early interest in tech and computer gaming led him to a career at Bottle Rocket.

What is something many people don't know about you?
I love spicy food. For several years, I've grown my own pepper plants. This year, I've overwintered 9 varieties of plants ranging from sweet bell peppers all the way to super hot ghost peppers and beyond.

How did you become interested in technology and programming?
From a young age, I've always been interested in technology and figuring out how things work. Computer gaming got me deep into the world of PC hardware and software, and then I took a programming course my sophomore year of high school. Going into it, I didn't think I would like programming, but after the first year, I took the class for the rest of my high school career so that I could practice my skills and compete in UIL competitions.

What did you study in college?
I started out studying Computer Engineering at UT Dallas, but switched to a Computer Science and Software Engineering double major about halfway through.

What are you working on now?
Today, I work as an iOS architect at Bottle Rocket where I develop iOS applications for our clients.

What have you gained from being a mentor? What was your most memorable moment while mentoring?
As a mentor, I've gained an appreciation for the people that facilitate the teaching of programming to others. Coding on its own can be a difficult concept to grasp, but coming up with a curriculum that teaches people to code is even more challenging! So far, my most memorable moment while mentoring has been when two students work well together and are able to reason through and solve a problem on their own.

Is there anything that you wish you could tell your younger self about coding?
Coding is all about learning from experience and trying new things. Make sure to set aside free time to build anything cool or interesting to you. Better yet, find a friend that's also interested in coding and make something together!

What is it about Bold Idea's mission that really connects with you?
I think the belief that all students deserve the opportunity to learn computer science connects with me the most. Coding is a great way to build problem solving skills, which will be a vital part of everyone's future.