Sun staff
A Milford business’s initiative to introduce more students to technology and make a difference in the community is growing every year.
The camp, goIT was created out of a desire of Tata Consultancy Services, an IT service company that is one of the fastest growing companies in the region, to make a difference in the community, said Amar Naga, director.
“We wanted to create something very impactful and sustainable,” Naga said.
The camp is more than just building a robot; it is about teamwork and how to handle pressure, Naga said.
The middle school camp lasts for two days and the high school camp lasts for three days, said Maura Thompson, senior program specialist, science, engineering, technology and mathematics. There were 65 middle school students and 79 high school students involved. The high school camp ended on June 19.
“We hope that through this experience that we’re inspiring them to pursue STEM education and career pathways,” Thompson said.
It is anticipated that between 2013 and 2023 every graduate with a computer science degree will have two jobs available. Also, more than 1.4 million jobs will require computer science and programming skills by 2020 but there will only be 400,000 CS college graduates, according to a brochure on goIT.
TCS hopes that students in the camp will come back and work for the company after they complete college, Thompson said.
Jemison grew up in a blue-collar family in Perintown. Before he was introduced to programming in goIT, he was thinking about going into the military or working for a construction company
During his time in college, he came back to TCS and volunteered for the goIT camp. Jemison also did an internship with the company. After he graduated from Northern Kentucky University in May, he was hired.
“The biggest thing is getting them to meet people who are in IT. That does way more than anything else. Getting to talk to someone who’s just out of college and just got done with everything you’re about to start let’s you know what you’re actually up for,” Jemison said.
The program also helps students learn programming concepts, because not all schools teach that. Students also get to meet students from other schools and learn about information technology.
During this year’s high school camp, the students used a few different programs. One is Alice, a 3D animation tool. Students were put into teams and asked to complete different tasks and animate the tasks, said Brian Purvis, IT Analyst.
Teams used Blender to fortify a building with a 3D model. They had to design and build the walls, and then figure out how to keep something from getting into the space, Purvis said.
Both Blender and Alice, along with most of the tools goIT students use, are free and available for the students from home, Purvis said.
The two robot challenges this year are programming a robot to complete a course that involves going around corners and going up and down a ramp before a robot controlled by a staff member that starts 15 seconds later catches the first, Purvis said.
The other challenge is programming a robot to climb a flight of stairs where all of the stairs are a different height, Purvis said. This is the first vertical challenge goIT has had.
The challenges change every year, Naga said.
Logan LaVan, a senior at Hillsboro High School, enjoys that the challenges aren’t the same from year to year. This is his second time at the camp.
He really enjoys interacting with students from other schools and interacting with his team leaders. LaVan has learned a lot, especially about codes and programming.
Before attending goIT, LaVan wanted to become a math teacher. Now he wants to go into IT, and his dream job is to work for TCS.
“This is a big, huge, persuasive part when it came to my decision,” LaVan said.
The camps went very well this year, Naga said. The students got some quality one-on-one time with the employees.
Purvis’s goal was to have 50 students at the middle school camp, and got 65. He tried to reduce the number of high school students this year by marketing the program less when they started to reach an ideal number of students to allow students a better quality program. He has never turned away a student.
The high school camp ends with an awards ceremony and a college fair. Awards are given for first, second and third places based on the score each of the 14 teams get from four challenges, Purvis said.
The teams in second and third place get gift cards and the team in first place gets some sort of technology, this year a Moto 360 watch, Purvis said.
When goIT started in 2009, the only camp was in Milford, but it has now expanded to 27 other locations, Thompson said. TCS only begins camps in areas with a bigger number of employees because the program is employee driven.
The first goIT camp has students from Milford Schools and Clermont Northeastern Schools. Now the camp has students from 22 schools, Purvis said.
The staff made the decision to create a middle school camp because they wanted to start teaching students earlier.
“I think that it is a time where they’re open to learn more new things about technology or anything and we want to give them the guidance and mentorship,” Naga said.
In addition, high school students from Milford can shadow an employee as part of Milford’s job shadowing program, Purvis said.
TCS’s involvement with students does not stop after they complete high school. The company collaborates with local colleges to bring in interns, Naga said.