Marquette Today

Campus News and Events

Submit news

Menu

  • Campus News
    • Top News for Students
    • Top News for Faculty & Staff
    • Magazines at Marquette
    • Campus Alerts
  • Archives
  • Submit news
    • Editorial Guidelines
    • Contacts
  • @MarquetteToday
  • Events Calendar
  • Topics
    • Community Engagement
    • Diversity
    • Innovation
    • Master Planning
    • Marquette Momentum
    • Research
    • Strategic Planning
  • March 21, 2023

Marquette Momentum: Engaging tomorrow’s STEM leaders, one hour of code at a time

March 28, 2019

By Alexis Schlindwein, Comm ’13, senior communication specialist in the Opus College of Engineering

Computing and technology jobs are abundant, and they’re only expected to rise. But according to Code.org, only 40 percent of high schools nationwide teach computer science.

This leaves employers wondering just how they can get today’s students — tomorrow’s workforce — interested in a promising, growing field. The answer lies in teaching them a new language, but not those typically offered by schools. It’s the new language of technology — coding.

In an effort to introduce Milwaukee-area students to the world of computing and technology, Northwestern Mutual and NEWaukee hosted Milwaukee’s Hour of Code, a challenge to 20 area organizations to teach 1,000 hours of code during Computer Science Awareness Week in December. Marquette’s Girls Who Code chapter was eager to join the efforts.

Marquette’s chapter started during the 2014-15 school year with about 20 girls. They participated in Level One of the national Girls Who Code program, which taught the fundamentals of computer science using the Python programming language. Now in its fifth year, Marquette’s chapter welcomes nearly 50 young girls and boys, age 10 through high school, to campus once a week from September through April. They’ve grown their offerings, too, so that students can come back year after year to continue building their coding skills around web development and project-based learning like apps.

Paula Van Camp, Eng ’20, is one of several Marquette students who not only teach the weekly Girls Who Code classes but also serve as role models who share their experiences around the value of knowing how to code. Van Camp, a computer engineering major, notes that like many of the students in Girls Who Code, a career in coding wasn’t always on her radar.

“I had always been a tinkerer and played around with tools and concepts that related to engineering,” said Van Camp. “But it wasn’t until I helped start a Girls Who Code chapter in my high school, that I learned to love coding and the concepts of bringing things to life through technology and not just physical components.”

When students aren’t exposed to STEM activities like coding, they not only miss out on learning the technical competencies but the problem-solving capabilities that are developed, too. That’s why programs like Girls Who Code and initiatives like the Hour of Code are important.

“One of the most rewarding parts for me is when a student asks a question and before I answer, they end up walking through the problem on their own,” Van Camp said. “I enjoy seeing them reason through the different problems we pose and the confidence and independence they gain when they solve problems.”

While Marquette’s chapter contributed 82 total hours of code for Milwaukee’s Hour of Code, the impact goes even further. For the students who attend class each week, they’re not just learning a new skill. They’re opened up a world of opportunities for future careers in STEM.

Northwestern Mutual has been a great partner to the Marquette Girls Who Code program over the years; most recently, the Opus College of Engineering’s Office of Enrollment Management and Outreach received a $5,000 award from the Milwaukee-based financial services firm to support the Girls Who Code chapter. The funds will help offset the costs of running the chapter and support girls from Milwaukee and the surrounding southeast Wisconsin community.


Filed Under: For Faculty/Staff, For Students, Home - Featured Story, Marquette Momentum, News

More news

Research and grants webinar, March 29 

March 21, 2023

Academy Award Winner Marlee Matlin to serve as Marquette University’s 2023 Commencement speaker

March 21, 2023

Sales and engineering intersect at Marquette’s first technical sales workshop

March 21, 2023

Annual consumer information notice

March 21, 2023

2023 faculty promotions announced

March 21, 2023

Notice of federal student aid penalties for drug convictions

March 21, 2023

Volunteers needed for research on long-term health in athletes 

March 20, 2023

Trivia Night Wednesday with Ignite, March 22

March 20, 2023

More news

Quick Links

  • Faculty/Staff News
  • Student News
  • Magazines at Marquette
Submit news

Featured Stories

Marquette Bookshelf: ‘Sajjilu Arab American: A Reader in SWANA Studies’

Marquette Bookshelf: ‘Sajjilu Arab American: A Reader in SWANA Studies’

Co-Edited by Dr. Louise Cainkar, professor of social and cultural studies Both a summative assessment of the field and an exploration of new directions, this multidisciplinary reader addresses issues central to the fields of Arab American, U.S. Muslim, and Southwest Asian and North African (SWANA) American studies. Taking a broad conception of the Americas, this […]

Educating the next generation of Marquette Nurses

Educating the next generation of Marquette Nurses

By Katie Darragh, communication intern in the Office of University Relations  Ranked 29th among nursing colleges nationally for its bachelor’s program, Marquette’s College of Nursing is a dynamic community of innovative teacher–scholars who are embracing Marquette’s mission to Be The Difference in the health of the community and in the lives of over 900 student […]

8 great things (you may not know) about Marquette

8 great things (you may not know) about Marquette

What you should know about Marquette as the men’s and women’s basketball teams compete on the national stage in the NCAA Tournament.

Read more featured stories.

Safety

Free steering wheel locks available from MUPD; new software available for Hyundai vehicles

Safety Task Force efforts help lead to reduced crime on campus

Marquette University makes safety a top priority

Human Resources News

Earn My Wellness points and help Marquette beat Butler in blood drive competition

Register for upcoming GROW classes

Web page dedicated to Staff Compensation Structure Project now available

Research

Apply for NMDSI mini-grants by April 7

Biological sciences professor receives R01 funding from NIH to expand genome editing tools in lizards

Marquette faculty and staff research grants from December 2022/January 2023

Awards & Accomplishments

Biological sciences professor receives R01 funding from NIH to expand genome editing tools in lizards

Director of the Lubar Center to receive Headliner Award from Milwaukee Press Club

Graduate student and Trinity Fellow honored at African American Environmental Pioneer Awards

Marquette UniversityCopyright 2022 by Marquette University
MARQUETTE.EDU // A TO Z