A group of students sit at their desks quietly focused on their laptop screens in front of them. They’re listening to the Best Buy employee standing at the front of the classroom teaching them the foundations of computer coding. Today is the first day of their local Geek Squad Academy (GSA), Best Buy’s free two-day summer camp that takes place in cities across the country.
During the camp, the students learn more than just computer coding. Through interactive projects, they’ll explore areas like photography, film and music production and more, led by Best Buy employees from all corners of the company. During this workshop, young people discover new skills using cutting-edge technology and learn how they can be applied to their educational pursuits and future careers.
“I’m a believer in learning through play, so you’ve got to give them the toy box for them to start building the block tower. And that’s exactly what this is,” says Justen Bristlin, Senior Specialist, Giving & Engagement at Best Buy and Program Manager for Best Buy’s Geek Squad Academy camp.
At the end of today’s session, the students will have designed their own video game character using block-based coding, a coding concept for beginners that helps them understand the logic and structure of basic computer coding. Tomorrow, they’ll dive deeper and learn how to fix a broken computer game. Using basic elements of the Python programming language, which tells a computer what to do, and syntax to properly structure the code to make it work correctly, students get to experiment and have fun learning how to code in a unique way.
Evolving with the digital world
One of the goals of these summer camps is to equip young people with the skills and resources to shape their futures through technology. As the demand for tech skills in our daily lives continues to grow, it has become increasingly important to prepare today’s youth with the skills to succeed in the tech-reliant careers of the future.
“There are more and more jobs that require technology competency and familiarity than ever before, and it’s going to continue increasing,” says Justen.
Justen’s been supporting GSA for the last seven years. To prepare for the upcoming GSA season, every winter Justen rounds up a group of Best Buy employees from across the country and holds training sessions on that year’s upcoming curriculum. Once they’re ready to go, the group sets off to spark creativity and teach new tech skills to youth in their communities.
“Helping these students realize, ‘Oh, I can code or make my own music with these tools that are available to me,’ or ‘Wow, I can make something’,” says Justen. “Moving from that consumption to creation.”
Ultimately, it’s moments like these when the students grasp a new skill that makes this program truly meaningful.
