By Christopher Del Monte
Thursday, December 7, Northern Essex Community College hosted a programming workshop in teaching the importance of Computer Science Education Week. The event was held at 420 Common Street and it was hosted by Professor Ethel Schuster, a Colombian native and professor of computer science at Northern Essex Community College.
Collaborating with Sí, Se Puede, a neighborhood program in the Merrimack Valley focusing on empowering middle school and high school students from low-income families who are also nonnative English speakers, Professor Schuster taught students from schools throughout Lawrence how to create a face by way of basic computer coding. These codes allowed the students to sequence of codes, which then represented varieties of shapes, sizes, and colors, manifesting a face resembling Mr. Potato Head. Students from Sueños Basketball, another local organization in Lawrence assisting students from low-income families, were also attending this event.
Lorie Mendoza, executive director of Sí, Se Puede, was present, as she was assisting Professor Schuster in teaching the students the basics in writing code.
“Some came in not knowing about code, but some did. This event was set up to get those who don’t know how to code to become familiar with it. It’s good to give these kids an opportunity to explore programs that that may consider within their future as a career option or as a hobby,” said Ms. Mendoza.
This programming workshop is a representation of the technological advancement needed to be stimulated locally through a STEM workshop within a community that has the talent potential. In a community where there is political division, corruption, the uncertainty of living another day safely, a massive wave of violence, an ongoing opioid epidemic—the positive light in the minority youth engaged in the attainment of technological knowledge will bring Lawrence the reputation it deserves as a model for educational advancement, maintained by a strong immigrant community aiming to nurture the minds of their young.
Professor Schuster and Ms. Mendoza are examples of what education should be about in the face of conservative national politics, aiming to slash education at the expense of children and families who aim to empower them and those around them.
We must allow this STEM program, by way of workshops for students, to multiply in the coming years. The stem of the city’s rose will only come back to blossom a city so deserving of cultivating its local talents—like a rose alongside those winning their daily bread.
