By Rama K. Ramaswamy
The Wellesley Community Center (WCC), in partnership with Wellesley High School student Luis Hoderlein, will host its first-ever workshop on “the digital divide.” Hoderlein is spearheading the four week program and describes the divide as “a modern social and economic dilemma.”
“In today’s digital world, access to technology and ability to handle it is as crucial as math and reading, but many children don’t have access to computers,” said Hoderlein, a WHS junior. This program was designed to address this challenge.
Hoderlein’s Wellesley Digital Bridges is an organization of high schoolers who are committed to bridging the digital divide by providing electronic donations helping underserved schools and communities obtain access to technology.
“It is increasingly important for students to have access to state-of-the-art technology for their education,” added Hoderlein. “Unfortunately, many students in underserved communities do not have this access to technology and may fall further behind their peers.” This workshop offers programming to middle and high schoolers. all proceeds will go towards the purchase of computers or tablets, distributed to schools in disadvantaged areas.
Hoderlein, who describes himself as “all about technology,” says, “I already have some experience in this area: I am passionate about computers and programming. I am the co-president of the computer science club at WHS, a recent intern of MIT and Harvard Summer School, and have participated in many competitions (USACO, Cyberpatriot, etc). Programming and working with computers is integral to who I am. I would like to share my passion, especially with students who have not had the opportunity to learn programming and work with computers at an early age.” Furthermore, he said, “it troubles me that many talented students in our country are not as fortunate as I have been, and do not even have access to computers, let alone to the resources to learn coding. I know that this often means reduced chances in their lives, and that our communities lack their talents. I hope that my involvement can help to bridge ‘the digital divide.’”
In order to support this new thinking in civic engagement, the Wellesley Community Center will be hosting this four-week class (on Python 2.7 coding) every Friday beginning on September 29. To register, visit http://www.wellesleycommunitycenter.org.
