Souhegan’s programming club is a place where all students with an interest in computer science can learn to code. This year, the club is focused on learning Python, teaching code to kids at AMS, and participating in Hour of Code, a movement to get more students involved in programming.

The club was formed in 2014 by Katie McCann for her Girl Scout Gold Award. Then, it was the only programming course offered at Souhegan. Last year a JavaScript/ActionScript 3 class was added, and this year a full programming course in Python is available.

One of the reasons McCann created the club was the lack of computer science professionals. “There aren’t enough programmers out there to fill all of the [computer science] jobs”, she says, “even though they’re great jobs with great benefits.” Many students aren’t offered a programming class until college, and by then they have decided a career path and are less open to learning code. “If we taught them in elementary, middle school, high school people would be a lot more familiar with technology and would be a lot more open to going into the computer science fields.”

When asked his favorite part of programming club, Souhegan sophomore Sam Henry said, “I would say creating a project or game while in a community of supportive people, programmers and people who share your passion.” He added that the club is a great way to get advice on programming projects and to learn to program collaboratively. 

Programming Club meets Monday afternoons from 2:30 to 3:30 in room A103.