It’s not just what people might see at face value when it comes to technology. After all, it’s not just sitting behind a computer screen coding all the time. It’s also about creativity to realize that there are other ways of doing a task.
At least, that’s what David Fowler, 24, began understanding after participating in Camp BYOC back in 2014.
He participated in the inaugural Camp BYOC summer camp. BYOC, or build your own computer, is a 501(c)3 nonprofit offering camps and clubs put together by Robin Walker. She worked in Corporate IT for more than 30 years.
Walker started the computer building camp in 2014, showing anyone who was interested how to build a computer. The camp, located 1 Sheakley Way in Cincinnati, is helping develop interest in technology, and showing children what is possible in a STEM career.
“I thought it was a unique way to teach tech because it’s something that most organizations are not really doing,” Walker said.
For David, attending the camp allowed him to see others like him excelling in a technological world.
“We went to Silicon Valley twice,” he said of the inaugural summer camp. “We went to Google, and we got to tour Facebook.”
Another student, Arielle Barnes, attended two tours of Silicon Valley tech companies. She said touring places like Microsoft changed her perspective on what her career could be as well. She was able to meet and network with engineers and other STEM leaders and was able to land an internship in Silicon Valley her freshman year.
“It’s just the power of networking and being able to communicate with the engineers, with recruiters,” she said. “I think that was very important.”
Fowler said he had always been good at math and science, but it was not until the Silicon Valley Tours that he changed his perception of what a career in technology and STEM could be.
“We went to tour these companies, and they had shown us a lot of people of color or people who said that they never thought they would be where they are,” David said, thinking back 12 years. “So it was something that showed me that I could also do it.”
He added that his parents made him confident in his abilities, but it was seeing others in action that really made him think about where he could go with computers.
Fowler remembered the first camp ran the gambit of the computer world, touching on a bevy of topics during the nearly half month-long camp.
Of the topics, Fowler’s favorite was coding.
During the tours in California, he realized just how exciting the field could be.
“They told us about the different job opportunities there. And that really also made me think, ‘oh, wow. I like coding, and it’s lucrative,’” he said. “I like the creativity part about coding, and I like that coding wasn’t just set in stone, there were multiple ways to get to that same answer, or to get what you want, and then even ways to go even deeper.”
As time went on and BYOC camps grew from 11 students to up to 100, Walker said the camp grew as well.
The summer camp has now expanded into monthly courses, offering specific focuses and clubs.
“We’ve added coding, we’ve added graphic design and web design. We’ve added STEM fundamentals, robotics, cyber security,” Walker said of specific clubs and camps. “So we have continued to evolve, to add more classes, to expose kids to more things.”
Fowler took his tech love to Kentucky State University, where he earned his bachelor degree in computer science. He said because of the things he learned at Camp BYOC each year, he was able to test out of the freshman-year Python coding classes.
He also was able to show older students how to do it.
“I was already more ahead of the game than most of my peers, I got in and was already taking sophomore classes in computer science,” he said. “They even had me start tutoring. So by my freshman year, I was tutoring sophomores and juniors still taking the course.”
After graduating, the Thoroughbred returned to KSU for his Masters degree in Information Engineering.
He now runs the Youth Center for Excellence, a youth empowerment initiative at Kentucky State University, providing comprehensive, year-round programming to support the academic success, personal growth, and social development of middle school students.
Fowler credits Walker’s summer camp for helping him shape his career and the passion it built.
“BYOC definitely helped make me who I am today,” he said. “I might have been good at math or science, but I didn’t think I would have ever actually say, ‘oh yeah, I can try coding’ if it weren’t for them.
“And then also, it gave me a passion of wanting to also mentor and teach, and so that’s what I do at Kentucky State,” he continued. “I run my own after school youth program where I write the grants to help them get funded and have the staff that teach, and I get to bring in STEM components to them and show them a lot of the stuff that I learned from BYOC, and give it to them as well, because they don’t have anything like that here.”
Students attend the camp from all over the country, Walker said.
“Anyone who wants to can take a class. We’ve actually had people come from other states and take classes: Texas, Michigan, North Carolina, Missouri,” the founder said. “We also work with school districts where we can, to share with them what we’re doing and have them reach out to their parents to share this camp.”
Camp BYOC is offering classes year round. The upcoming three-day Spring Break courses begin March 17 and March 24. The camps, for ages 9 to 17, will focus on Python coding and the basics of multimedia. Various Summer courses begin in June and July.
Robin said teaching children about technology was vital to them being able to understand the world around them.
Donita Barnes, a mother of two Camp BYOC participants agrees.”You can always grow from it and use it,” she said.
Her daughter, Arielle, 20, attends the Ohio State University and is earning a computer science degree.
“I think that this world is all about technology, and I just believe that starting off at such a young age is an advantage,” Donita said.
For Arielle, who took her first Camp BYOC course at age 12, the camp grew her interest in coding. Her son Jadon, enjoys coding as well, but for creating video games.
Arielle and Jadon’s father, Jay Barnes, said watching his children develop a passion in technology was joy for him.
“I saw them develop a desire to and really grasp technology itself, especially with their coding. You know, they were able to get in and start coding to the point where they created a game,” he said. “I saw them develop a desire to and really grasp technology itself, especially with their coding. You know, they were able to get in and start coding to the point where they created a game”
Walker said knowledge in technology is vital in todays environment, for safety, and general know-how.
“You need to know how to manage your data, so you are safe,” Walker said. “It doesn’t matter what area you’re working in. So it just helps you overall with life.”
Donita Barnes said she’d recommend this camp to anyone with children.
“I would definitely recommend it to someone,” said Barnes. “I do believe that children definitely learn something,” she said. “They learn it at a young age, and it is something that will definitely carry them as they get older into adulthood. It is a skill set that you will always have.”
