Freshman Rishabh Parekh has started West Bloomfield High School’s (WBHS) very first Coding Club. The advisor of the coding club is Mr. David Weeks, the Computer-Aided Design (CAD) teacher at WBHS. Through the coding club, students can learn more about computer science, and how computer programs work. After Parekh found out that there was no computer science club at WBHS, he immediately talked to Ashleigh Ruggero, the student activities director at WBHS and was able to start the “grassroots” of the coding organization in the 2014-2015 school year.

Parekh has extensive aspirations for the Coding Club. According to Parekh, “Learning how to code will become necessary for every individual to learn. It is a simple as learning a new language.” In the future, having the skill of learning how to code will be very valuable. With the ability to code, one can create their own website, understand how computers work, and gain the skill of being able to think logically which improve ones quick-thinking skills. As the Coding Club becomes more established in the school community, they plan to attend and participate in more coding competitions locally, regionally and maybe even nationally!

Students who attended the first few meetings of the club seemed very excited to finally have a club that supported the endeavors of those who enjoy technology and computers. We asked students why they wanted to join, and what they hoped to gain from the coding club. Senior Erika Austin said that,  “I am in the coding club because I would like to major in computer science in college. I hope to gain knowledge that I don’t have from this club.” Sophomore Brian Semrau does, “ a lot of programming at home, and I’ve been programming for years so I just thought it’d be cool”.  Freshman Jake Cohen said he “liked coding before and it’s gonna be used a lot in the future, and it’s good to know”.

Parekh and others on the executive board have various activities plan for the duration of this aspiring club. Some activities planned include having executives from big name tech companies like Microsoft, Google and IBM, to speak to members of West Bloomfield’s very own coding club. In fact, coding club will be hosting its first speaker  very soon. The person speaking is Mr. Adam Bratt of Benzinga, an American financial media outlet that focuses on any companies, from startups to established firms. Bratt is also the Head Developer for Marketfy.com, the first ever curated & verified Marketplace for everything trading. Marketfy.com currently supports more than 100,000 members. Previously, Bratt founded and grew web studio to 100+ clients in 3 years and created a network of viral image sites with over 150 million page views to date. On January 14th, after school in Week’s room, room 402, and Bratt will speak to students about the importance of coding in everyday business.

Interested in learning more about coding, computer science, and its benefits? Come to the next meeting on Wednesday, January 14th after school in room 402!