Once again, Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems LLC has donated $10,000 to sponsor a week-long summer experience designed to engage local rising ninth- through twelfth-grade students in hands-on, interactive computer coding activities. Called the High School Coding Camp, the experience is scheduled for August 1-5 at Lorain County Community College (LCCC), in Elyria, OH. Bendix also donated $10,000 in 2015, the High School Coding Camp’s first year.
The LCCC camp – part of a program for Northeast Ohio (NEO) high school students – is one of seven sponsored by leading NEO employers and industry groups in conjunction with TECH CORPS and RITE (Ohio Regional Information Technology Engagement).
The seven camps are being held at colleges and universities in Northeast Ohio. Free to participating students, they will serve more than 100 high schoolers selected through an application process. This year, one of the camps is girls-only, to encourage more girls to enter the IT field.
Each camp consists of a 40-hour program in which 20 students will learn industry-standard programming languages and – through a series of labs and activities – be exposed to the same challenges software designers encounter daily. Students will also interact with technology professionals from the sponsor organization and learn about educational and career pathways in the region.
“We’re pleased to continue our sponsorship of the High School Coding Camp, and to help immerse another group of young people in the world of coding for five fun and challenging days,” says Paul Szentkiralyi, Bendix Director, Information Technology Americas. “The experience is designed to help students discover their passion, build their IT skills, and reinforce how rewarding technical endeavors can be. The need for IT professionals – highly skilled developers, in particular – is significant and growing. Our hope is that the camp will be an early step for students who one day may become contributing members of the IT community.”
Szentkiralyi and Kate Scheibelhut, Bendix Manager – Americas IT Applications, serve as LCCC RITE Council employer representatives for Bendix, the North American leader in the development and manufacture of leading-edge active safety and braking system technologies for commercial vehicles. Together, as in 2015, they helped spearhead the company’s sponsorship of the High School Coding Camp.
The effort is part of Bendix’s ongoing commitment to support local STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) and education initiatives, as well as area-wide community growth.
“The High School Coding Camp matches up letter-perfect with our community involvement mission at Bendix,” Scheibelhut says. “Our sponsorship is an investment in education and technology, in our community’s young people, and in our region and its employers. Everybody wins. We are looking forward to August and the chance to work with this year’s camp participants.”
In another instance of Bendix supporting area students, Richard Beyer, Vice President of Engineering and R&D, recently served as an Invention Convention judge for the Westlake City Schools. The competition, which took place January 22, was designed to build problem-solving and manufacturing skills among young students. Beyer served as a judge for the same competition in 2015.
