News

The Michigan State University community experienced a tragic violent assault on February 13, 2023. In response, MSU cancelled all classes from the time of the assault until Monday February 20. Over this time, our Spartan Girls Who Code team has been working to navigate the aftermath of this event.

Thank you for your patience and understanding as this healing process is ongoing. We are doing our best to provide valuable coding lessons to club participants while also accommodating needs of MSU student employees.

We will inform all participants of any future schedule changes due to this event through both email and this News page. We strive to post notices of any changes as timely as possible, but at least by Saturday 8 a.m. for changes to a Saturday morning session and by Thursday noon for changes to a Thursday Bonus Hour.

Congratulations coders! Your performance on the Kahoot! last Saturday showed that you have come a long way already! We can't wait to see the how you will make of use your new found skills in the coming weeks!

Before we dive into a full recap of Saturday's meeting, we'd like to share a few announcements.

Announcements

1. Bonus Hour

Join us at this week's Bonus Hour on Thursday, 9 February from 7-8pm Belize Time (BZT), open to all MSU x Pathlight Belize Coding Club students. Two student mentors will be available on zoom during the bonus hour—this is a great opportunity for 1:1 discussion and support!

• Zoom Link: https://msu.zoom.us/j/92304876048 (password: see email)



2. Looking Back

Wow! We've completed 4 meetings already! So far, we've covered the basics of HTML — Text, Links, Images and Copyright. Check out our resources page for the slides from each meeting.

3. Looking Ahead

Remember that we meet every Saturday from 10-12p BZT, through 1 April!. Our temperature checks show that some of you are itching to start learning CSS. Don't worry — that is coming soon. But this Saturday, we'll be covering Lists and Tables. 😍

4. Questions?

As always, please reach out with any questions / concerns / ideas / feedback to belizecc@egr.msu.edu.

Meeting Recap

We started this Saturday with a Kahoot! as a fun way to review concepts that coders learned in the first 3 weeks. We encountered a few technical issues and an error in one of our questions, which only goes to show that these things happen to all of us! Still, everyone seemed to have a good time, and demonstrated that they have learned a ton!

This Saturday was dedicated to review. The slides below are a few that we reviewed related to including images in webpages.

Be sure to check out our resources page for the full set of slides from each meeting!

We appreciate the feedback from coders that we get each Saturday through the end-of-class "Temperature Check." While we appreciated the overwhelmingly positive responses, we want to be sure everyone has a great time at MSU x PCC this spring — so if you're having any issues with anything, please send us an email at belizecc@egr.msu.edu.

Mentor Spotlight

MSU x PCC is led, organized, and run by MSU students with the help of Teresa Isela Vandersloot and Dr. Laura Dillon. To help coders learn more about the MSU x PCC team members who make this club possible, we will spotlight a few of them each week.

To continue our mentor spotlight series, we'd like to introduce some of the Spring 2023 Faculty Advisors!

Mikayla Norton

Oyendrilla Dobe

What are you studying?
Michigan State: M.S. student in Data Science, B.S. in Applied Engineering Sciences with Supply Chain concentration + minors in Business and CMSE (Computational Math, Science, Engineering)

How did you become interested in computer science?
I fell in love with the data science side of computer science from an undergraduate research experience at MSU.

What's something cool you've done with computer science?
I used Spotify data to generate a predictive model of a song's popularity based on its features and characteristics.

What are you hoping to do with computer science in the future?
I would love to work in AI and Fairness/Ethics, and am considering going on for a PhD in this field.

What advice do you have for our students?
Computer Science is like a fun logic puzzle, don't be afraid to step outside of your comfort zone to find a solution!

What are you studying?
Bachelor's in Computer Science and Engineering from India.

How did you become interested in computer science?
I started by learning LOGO and amazed at how we could easily convert our ideas into pictures on the screen.

What's something cool you've done with computer science?
I created a shopping website to sell my favorite badminton equipments.

What are you hoping to do with computer science in the future?
I'm trying to understand how we reason about things and in turn teach a computer to do it.

What advice do you have for our students?
Always question why you are learning something.

Thanks for making last Saturday a blast, everyone. We can't wait to see you this Saturday!

Stay strong this week, coders!
-The MSU x Pathlight Belize Team

Congratulations to coders, who learned how to include images in their websites and the importance of following copyright restrictions when they do. We love the energy you bring to each Satuday lesson!

You've all made it through Formatting Text, Links, and Attributes and even got introduced to Images and Copyright!

Before we dive into a full recap of Saturday's meeting, we'd like to share a few announcements.

Announcements

1. Bonus Hour

Join us at this week's Bonus Hour on Thursday, 2 February from 7-8pm Belize Time (BZT), open to all MSU x Pathlight Belize Coding Club students. Two student mentors will be available on zoom during the bonus hour—this is a great opportunity for 1:1 discussion and support!

• Zoom Link: https://msu.zoom.us/j/92304876048 (password: see email)

2. Looking Back

Can you believe we've already completed our first three meetings? Time flies when you're having fun! So far, we've covered the basics of HTML and got introduced to more topics like Images and Copyright. Check out our resources page for the slides from each meeting.

3. Looking Ahead

Remember that we meet every Saturday from 10-12p BZT, through 1 April! This week, we'll be doing a review!

4. GWC Summer Programs

What are you up to this summer? Consider applying to one of two Girls Who Code (GWC) Summer Programs!

• The Summer Immersion Program (SIP) is a live, virtual, 2-week introductory computer science course for current eligible 9th, 10th, and 11th grade US students and international students ages 14-18. SIP participants learn web development with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript while getting an inside look into the tech industry through incredible company partners. In addition to a completely free program, we offer grants up to $500 and tech support for qualifying students.
• The Self-Paced Program is a 6-week flexible computer science course for current eligible 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th grade US students (including SIP alumni and graduating seniors) and international students ages 14-18 who prefer not to adhere to a set schedule. Self-Paced Program participants can choose to earn beginner-level badges in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript for web development or an intermediate-level badge in Python for cybersecurity. Students will also have the opportunity to build community through weekly live advisory sessions and Girls Who Code activities.

Girls Who Code is a US-based nonprofit which aims to close the gender gap in technology, and sponsors our sister club, Spartan Girls Who Code.


5. Questions?

As always, please reach out with any questions / concerns / ideas / feedback to belizecc@egr.msu.edu.

Meeting Recap

Our first 3 meetings have been an absolute blast, featuring a healthy mix of icebreakers, collaborative code-alongs, and hands-on exercises. Meeting 1 included a Zoom orientation and introduced the basics of HTML, Meeting 2 included a review and introduced new topics to HTML like Links, and Meeting 3 included a mini review and introducedd Images and Copyright!

To kick things off, each cohort did their own escape room!The students had a blast and even requested another escape room for this week!

The Tidy Bedroom Escape Room!

In this week's spotlight, the students watched a two quick and informative videos all about UI/UX!

The students then watched a video all about Copyright

Above are a few key slides from our last meeting to give an idea of what we've been up to. Be sure to check out our resources page for the full set of slides from each meeting!

Finally, we asked coders to fill out our "Temperature Check" — a very brief end-of-meeting survey to gauge comfort with material covered in the meeting. We were happy to receive overwhelmingly positive responses! It's always scary to try something new, so we were glad to hear that students felt they got off to a good start. That said, we want to be sure everyone has a great time at MSU x PCC this spring — so if you're having issues with anything, please send us an email at belizecc@egr.msu.edu.

Mentor Spotlight

MSU x PCC is led, organized, and run by MSU students with the help of Teresa Isela Vandersloot and Dr. Laura Dillon. To help coders learn more about the MSU x PCC team members who make this club possible, we will spotlight a few of them each week.

To continue our mentor spotlight series, we'd like to introduce the Spring 2023 Green Cohort Leads!

Sammy Guo

Ryan Spencer

What are you studying?
Major: Experience Architecture (UX/UI) Minor: Computer Science

How did you become interested in computer science?
I loved building apps in high School.

What's something cool you've done with computer science?
I'm currently in a research class where we convert audio files of students virtually working together in teams and we use machine learning to understand the sentiment (positive/negative) of the speakers.

What are you hoping to do with computer science in the future?
I hope to work in User Interface designer and conduct research of users within the tech field.

What advice do you have for our students?
Always pursue your passion

What are you studying?
Applied Engineering, with a concentration in Suppy Chain Management

How did you become interested in computer science?
I've been around it my last 4 years and have seen how amazing it can be—and how everyone who does it seems to love it.

What's something cool you've done with computer science?
My team and I used MATLAB to program a robot to navigate through an obstacle course in one of my first engineering courses.

What are you hoping to do with computer science in the future?
I plan on writing code that can help make the process of building infrastructure be safer and more sustainable.

What advice do you have for our students?
Don't give up on your goals!

Thanks for making last Saturday a blast, everyone. We can't wait to see you this Saturday!

Stay strong this week, coders!
-The MSU x Pathlight Belize Team

We made it through our first 2 weeks! We'd like to thank and congratulate our students for their energy and enthusiasm; our students' parents for their ongoing support and encouragement; our mentors for making each Saturday exciting, engaging, and entertaining; and our advisors for their organization, coordination and commitment to making this a reality. Without you all, we wouldn't be here.

Computer Science is challenging and exciting, learning to code is so important to teach students how to communicate and think logically. Coding helps students understand the world around them better. Coding fosters creativity and allows students to apply their creative thinking skills. Joining the MSU x Pathlight Belize Coding Club is a great way to learn these skills in a challenging, engaging, and positive environment. The challenges you overcome, the views you enjoy, and the friends you make are what it's all about.

Before we dive into a full recap of Saturday's meeting, we'd like to share a few announcements.

Announcements

1. Bonus Hour

Join us at this week's Bonus Hour on Thursday, 28 January from 7-8pm Belize Time (BZT), open to all MSU x Pathlight Belize Coding Club students. Two student mentors will be available on zoom during the bonus hour—this is a great opportunity for 1:1 discussion and support!

• Zoom Link: https://msu.zoom.us/j/92304876048 (password: see email)

2. Looking Back

Can you believe we've already completed our first two meetings? Time flies when you're having fun! So far, we've covered the basics of HTML. Check out our resources page for the slides from each meeting.

3. Looking Ahead

Remember that we meet every Saturday from 10-12p BZT, through 1 April! This week, we'll be introducing Images and Copyright.

4. GWC Summer Programs

What are you up to this summer? Consider applying to one of two Girls Who Code (GWC) Summer Programs!

• The Summer Immersion Program (SIP) is a live, virtual, 2-week introductory computer science course for current eligible 9th, 10th, and 11th grade US students and international students ages 14-18. SIP participants learn web development with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript while getting an inside look into the tech industry through incredible company partners. In addition to a completely free program, we offer grants up to $500 and tech support for qualifying students.
• The Self-Paced Program is a 6-week flexible computer science course for current eligible 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th grade US students (including SIP alumni and graduating seniors) and international students ages 14-18 who prefer not to adhere to a set schedule. Self-Paced Program participants can choose to earn beginner-level badges in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript for web development or an intermediate-level badge in Python for cybersecurity. Students will also have the opportunity to build community through weekly live advisory sessions and Girls Who Code activities.

Girls Who Code is a US-based nonprofit which aims to close the gender gap in technology, and sponsors our sister club, Spartan Girls Who Code.

5. Questions?

As always, please reach out with any questions / concerns / ideas / feedback to belizecc@egr.msu.edu.

Meeting Recap

Our first 2 meetings have been an absolute blast, featuring a healthy mix of icebreakers, collaborative code-alongs, and hands-on exercises. Meeting 1 included a Zoom orientation and introduced the basics of HTML, Meeting 2 included a review and introduced new topics to HTML like Links!

To kick things off, each cohort participated in a Speed Friending Icebreaker. Coders and mentors shared an item that they cared about as a way to get to know a bit about one another. Engagement was high, and all enjoyed learning cool information about their peers!

The prompt for our Speed Friending Ice Breaker!

Above are a few key slides from our last meeting to give an idea of what we've been up to. Be sure to check out our resources page for the full set of slides from each meeting!

Finally, we asked coders to fill out our "Temperature Check" — a very brief end-of-meeting survey to gauge comfort with material covered in the meeting. We were happy to receive overwhelmingly positive responses! It's always scary to try something new, so we were glad to hear that students felt they got off to a good start. That said, we want to be sure everyone has a great time at MSU x PCC this spring — so if you're having issues with anything, please send us an email at belizecc@egr.msu.edu.

Mentor Spotlight

MSU x PCC is led, organized, and run by MSU students with the help of Teresa Isela Vandersloot and Dr. Laura Dillon. To help coders learn more about the MSU x PCC team members who make this club possible, we will spotlight a few of them each week.

To continue our mentor spotlight series, we'd like to introduce the Spring 2023 Blue Cohort Leads!

Dalety Alveiro

Najiha Jaigirdar

What are you studying?
Applied Engineering Sciences with minors in Business and Leadership

How did you become interested in computer science?
I took an AP Computer Science Class in High School and really enjoyed content. I was also involved in Girls Who Code at my High School.

What's something cool you've done with computer science?
I created an app that would help MSU students recycle.

What are you hoping to do with computer science in the future?
In the future, I hope I can create cool websites for personal projects.

What advice do you have for our students?
Don't give up. It's normal to make mistakes, practice is the key to master this new language.

What are you studying?
Computer Engineering with a software systems Concentration and minor in graphic design

How did you become interested in computer science?
I participated in Girls who code in High school!

What's something cool you've done with computer science?
I helped write code that was used to automate brake validation for Ford trucks.

What are you hoping to do with computer science in the future?
I am looking forward to learning more about automation and continuing to do outreach.

What advice do you have for our students?
The greatest lesson you can learn is how to be a life long learner

Thanks for making last Saturday a blast, everyone. We can't wait to see you this Saturday!

Stay strong this week, coders!
-The MSU x Pathlight Belize Team

The Spring 2023 MSU x Pathlight - Belize Coding Club (MSUxPCC) kicked off on Saturday with enthusiastic coders and eager mentors — we hope coders are as excited as we are for the coming weeks!

The MSUxPCC mentors are thrilled to introduce the world of coding to your student! Computer science and programming are all around us in everything we do, and they are so much fun to learn! During this course, we want all students to remember that they are learning something new. It might be challenging at times. But learning to overcome those challenges while having fun with new friends is just as important as learning the material. We hope your student keeps this in mind as we continue throughout the program.

Before we dive into a full recap of Saturday's meeting, we'd like to share a few announcements.

Announcements

1. Participant Pre-Survey

We asked students to fill out the 2023 MSUxPCC Participant Pre-Survey at Saturday's meeting; but not everyone submitted their responses. If your student does not remember pressing the Submit button after filling the survey, please have them (re)fill and submit it before this Saturday's meeting at 2023 https://forms.gle/AX6YkstBYDRmru2i7 If they forget to press the Submit button, their responses are not saved.

2. Bonus Hour

We are hosting a MSUxPCC "bonus hour" every Thursday from 7:00-8:00p BZT (beginning this Thursday, 1/19). MSUxPCC coders are invited to drop in at any time in this hour to resolve technical difficulties, dive deeper into the coding concepts taught earlier, or just chat with mentors about their plans and aspirations.

Use the Zoom link below to join us for a bonus hour of fun each week. The password for our bonus hour will always be the same as the password for the previous Saturday's meeting (sent via email only).

• Zoom Link: https://msu.zoom.us/j/92304876048 (password is same as the one for your Cohort Zoom)



3. Girls Who Code Summer Programs

The national organization of Girls Who Code is offering two summer opportunities for high school students.

The Summer Immersion Program (SIP) is a live, virtual, 2-week introduction to computer science course for 9th-11th graders. Students will learn HTML, CSS, and JavaScript while getting an inside look into the tech industry through company sponsors.

The Self-Paced Program is a free remote computer science course for 9th-12th graders who prefer not to adhere to a strict schedule. Participants can choose to earn beginner-level badges in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript (for web development) or an intermediate-level badge in Python (for cybersecurity). Students will also have the chance to build a community through weekly sessions and Girls Who Code activities.

Find more details and register at https://girlswhocodesm.smapply.io/

4. Looking Ahead

We'll see you again this Saturday, 1/21 at 10a BZT for our second meeting of the spring, where we will review the material from last week and begin learning how to include text and links in webpages!

5. Questions?

As always, please reach out with any questions / concerns / ideas / feedback to belizecc@egr.msu.edu.

Meeting Recap

Coders were let into their Cohort Zoom rooms starting at 10 am — as students rolled in, mentor-student bonding had already begun!

To kick things off, each cohort participated in a Show & Tell Icebreaker. Coders and mentors shared an item that they cared about as a way to get to know a bit about one another. Engagement was high, and all enjoyed learning cool information about their peers!

The prompt for our Show & Tell Ice Breaker!

Following the icebreaker, we asked coders to complete a program pre-survey, which will help us evaluate and improve MSUxPCC in future years. We've learned a lot from pre- and post-surveys in past years — so we truly appreciate our coders' thoughtful feedback! Please ask your student if they submitted the pre-survey on Saturday — that is, did they press the Submit button? If not, or if they are not sure that they pressed Submit, please ask them to (re)fill it and submit at this Link before the next class.

Next, coders and mentors collaborated to write a club contract setting goals and expectations for future meetings. They then set up their CodeHS accounts for use in the coming weeks. We'll be working through the "Web Design (Matisse)" course!

A couple of the cohort club contracts — looking good!

Finally, we asked coders to fill out our "Temperature Check" — a very brief end-of-meeting survey to gauge comfort with material covered in the meeting. We were happy to receive overwhelmingly positive responses! It's always scary to try something new, so we were glad to hear that students felt they got off to a good start. That said, we want to be sure everyone has a great time at MSU x PCC this spring — so if you're having issues with anything, please send us an email at info@spartangwc.org.

Mentor Spotlight

MSU x PCC is led, organized, and run by MSU students with the help of Teresa Isela Vandersloot and Dr. Laura Dillon. To help coders learn more about the MSU x PCC team members who make this club possible, we will spotlight a few of them each week.

To kick off our mentor spotlight series, we'd like to introduce the Spring 2023 Admins! They have been working hard to get you all registered and keep you informed of plans for going forward.

Judy Effendi

Khushi Vora

What are you studying?
I am a fourth year majoring in Computer Science with a minor in Spanish!

How did you become interested in computer science?
I took an AP Computer Science Class in High School and really enjoyed content. I was also involved in Girls Who Code at my High School.

What's something cool you've done with computer science?
I developed a Face Detection algorithm in my Biometrics Course.

What are you hoping to do with computer science in the future?
I am hoping to continue working in Computer Science and ultimately continue to influence and empower the younger generation!

What advice do you have for our students?
No matter how frustrating it might get, don't give up - the end reward is so worth it. Enjoy it and have fun!

What are you studying?
I'm a Junior majoring in Computer Science with a minor in Informatics!

How did you become interested in computer science?
I became interested in computer science my freshman year of high school where I took an Intro to Web Design course and learned how to make websites — very similar to what our students are doing this spring!

What's something cool you've done with computer science?
I've built a personal website and a website version of the boardgame "Sorry!"

What are you hoping to do with computer science in the future?
In the future I'm hoping to continue working on websites and learn more about design & user experience!

What advice do you have for our students?
Always ask questions — the mentors are here to help YOU!

Katie White

What are you studying?
Double major in Computer Science and Computer Science

How did you become interested in computer science?
Got involved with Girls Who Code my freshman year

What's something cool you've done with computer science?
Wrote a social media scraper that outputs data to an interactive map

What are you hoping to do with computer science in the future?
I will join IBM full time this summer as a Back-End Developer

What advice do you have for our students?
There is nothing you can't do with code!

Thanks for making last Saturday a blast, everyone. We can't wait to see you this Saturday!

Stay strong this week, coders!
-The MSU x Pathlight Belize Team