UofM Students Use Google Grant To Teach Orange Mound Middle-Schoolers to Code

March 8, 2017 - Two University of Memphis students recently received a $10,000 award from the Google IgniteCS program. The IgniteCS grant provides funding and resources for groups of college and university students to make a difference in their communities through computer science mentorship.

Herve Aniglo, a recent UofM graduate, and Kareem DaSilva, a UofM computer science student, will host the five-week "Tigers Tech Expedition" for middle-schoolers from the Orange Mound community. The camp's purpose is to expose these 7th- and 8th-graders to different areas of computer science, including app development, cyber security and drone programming, inspiring them to become the next generation of technology innovators.

Meka Egwuekwe, founder and executive director of CodeCrew, is the adviser for the Tigers Tech Expedition. Aniglo and DaSilva are hosting the camp in a partnership between CodeCrew, a local nonprofit, and the UofM Association of Computing Machinery (ACM) student chapter. CodeCrew's mission is to help students from underserved communities become tech innovators through the use of diverse curriculums that teach them how to code. The ACM is the world's largest professional society for computer science.

Tigers Tech Expedition will be held on Saturdays at the UofM from April 9 through May 6. The camp will expose middle-schoolers to a variety of technologies such as drones, website programming and mobile app development. The camp will also expose students to notable technology employers from local technology employers.

"CodeCrew is excited to join the University of Memphis ACM chapter as they encourage more young Memphians to be tech producers through Tigers Tech Expedition," said Egwuekwe. "Computer science education is increasingly necessary for our city's prosperity in the 21st century, and I am proud of Herve and Kareem's leadership in securing this generous grant from Google."

For more information, contact Herve Aniglo at 901.513.3966 or anigloherve15@gmail.com or Meka Egwuekwe at 901.484.4203 or meka@code-crew.org, or visit tigerstechexp.wordpress.com/.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
Contact: Gabrielle Maxey
901.678.2135
gmaxey@memphis.edu