Coding Camp

The Greater Flagstaff Chamber of Commerce sponsored two Coding Camps this summer. Scott Hathcock, Business Development Director, and Nick Allen, Media and Communications Director, led the camps. Heather Berginc, the 7th and 8th grade math and Art of Argumentation teacher at Flagstaff Junior Academy also helped instruct the students.

The first camp in June had 17 students, from 10-15 years old, recruited from local schools. The second camp had 26 students. Each day of the one-week afternoon camp had different programming challenges for the students to stay engaged.

Scott explained: "Computer programming jobs are growing at 2X the national average according to Code.org. We want to give our youth every possible advantage in meeting the demands and succeeding in the future workforce. The camper and parent feedback from the two pilot camps was amazing. We are now in the planning stages of building this is into an ongoing program that reaches even more kids. With that being said, I would suggest that summer camps will most certainly be returning. Our overall objective to introduce as many Flagstaff kids to programming as possible. We will be seeking additional funding partners to help us fuel these efforts."

Coding Camp #2 - Adults without sunglasses, from left to right: Dr. Kathy Turner (President/CEO of College America in Flagstaff), Jerry Nabours (Flagstaff Mayor), Scott Hathcock (Business Development Director, Greater Flagstaff Chamber of Commerce ), and Julie Pastrick (President/CEO of the Greater Flagstaff Chamber of Commerce).

The camp was free to the participating students. The Greater Flagstaff Chamber of Commerce provided the instruction, College America donated the computer room, Barnes and Noble Book Store provided snacks as well as some coding books for the students, and Dairy Queen also provided snacks. Thank you all for contributing to Flagstaff's first Coding Camp experiences!