Email Correspondance with Guest Speaker

It took place over a few days and there were a few more emails in between but these are the primary emails showing how I reached out and connected with Mr. Arnett to bring him in to speak with students at Ampersand.

GUEST SPEAKER: LOGAN ARNETT

Lead Software Engineer | Self-taught Programmer | Mentor | Entrepreneur

Please click on the image to view the slideshow.

Student and Teacher Reflections

Below is a student reflection and a teacher reflection with regards to the presentation.

Email Correspondence with Guest Speaker

Students in Action

The slideshow below shows pictures of students engaged and participating while the guest speaker was presenting his information about the importance of computer science.

Mr. Logan Arnett was invited to showcase different career paths that use computer programming as well as alternatives to traditional college. Knowing that many of the students are already in the mindset that college is not for them, I thought it highly important that they learn from a professional who is living proof that you can be exceptionally successful and not have gone a traditional "route." All of the students are highly intelligent and providing them the chance to learn about how to apply computer programming to the real world was a great way to help them see that learning programming is indeed important.

A majority of the students at Ampersand come from a low-income home and so access to knowledge about careers outside of the typical ones, such as a doctor, lawyer, police, etc. is limited. Learning about these different pathways opened their perspective about potential future possibilities.

I also wanted Mr.Arnett to share with the students some of the projects he has created using programming languages. He shared it in a way that shows that computer programming is like an art form in itself and you can be really creative as you are building different websites, games, and applications.

Reflection

Students of all ages highly enjoyed learning from Mr. Arnett, and they were engaged in the entire presentation! This interaction provided students access to knowledge that most young adults are only just starting to learn about. The students at Ampersand now have the knowledge about alternative pathways and potential career options that they did not know existed beforehand. Students asked questions and learned about the importance of technology from a leading software engineer which gave them the chance to widen their horizons and start connecting how they can combine their curiosity and creativity with coding. Most importantly, they learned that ANYONE can learn how to code and most of the successful coders are self-taught!