(soft music)
- I don't know how you
can have a career today
in anything if you don't understand
technology to some extent.
So, I don't think there's
really any aspect of life
anymore that you're not using technology,
and that technology is
being run, in some fashion,
using some kind of software development.
- We're already in a
place where so many jobs
are really influenced by
programming and computer science,
and that's only going to become
more prevalent over time.
We want people who are able
to engage in the workforce
in a meaningful way.
And in order to do that, at this point,
you really need to have
a good foundation in computer science.
- Everything is being digitized.
The digital revolution,
we're in the middle of it.
So when you look at everything
from products store,
they're either going online,
they're being linked with social media,
or they're being
automated in some fashion.
So, students of the
future, as they come out
into the workforce are
going to have to know IT.
And they're gonna have
to know at a very low,
deeper understanding of IT,
no matter what industry you're in,
whether you're a small mom and pop shop,
you're using IT,
or you're a big corporation,
right, it doesn't matter.
- Computer Science is every day.
You don't know what you're
using computer science wise,
but you use it every day,
whether you pick up a
phone, your alarm clock,
however that is and I tell the kids,
why don't you create that?
Why can't you do that?
"I don't know how", come take
my class, I'll teach you.
- Whether or not you plan
to go become a programmer.
The reality is the discipline you choose
to work in likely will
be heavily influenced
by computer science.
And it's important that you
understand how that works,
even if that's not how you're going
to engage in the problems in the future.
- So if that can be brought forward
through the educational system,
then everybody has a
lot better opportunity
to become employed in a company like ours.
- It is a science, it is a field
where you learn many
different skills and acumen,
how to solve problems,
how to understand logic,
testing, experimenting.
These are basic building blocks
of the educational system, right?
So by being able to learn this,
we're better at physics, chemistry,
and math and everything else, right.
It's definitely it's strapped to the rest
of the curriculum as well.
- Learning computer science
when you're still in in K12-education
is less about creating
programmers of tomorrow
and more about creating
thinkers of tomorrow.
And some of those students might go on
to study computer science and
might go on to have a career
in computer science,
that's great if they choose to do that.
But that's not the purpose of our work.
Our work is focused on
helping students understand
how this technology that is
central to their life works
and to understand how
they can transform it
and be a part of creating it.
- You know, it would be great if all
of these jobs get filled by
North Carolina students, right.
Why not take the opportunities
that we call home in our own state.
- One thing that employers
always say when they come
into the state is, of course,
they want to make sure that
they have the workforce
that can meet the needs, right.
And so we know that
even earlier the spring
they were over 18,000 open
computing jobs in North Carolina
and again, that's going to grow.
- My undergrad is in PE, and my Master's
is in administration.
So people kind of look at me,
you're in computer science.
And that's why I tell the kids,
anyone can do this and it's fun.
(soft music)
- We're gonna see more engagement
around computer science,
I think to the point where
it's not just a buzzword.
That it's integrated into
schools and schoolwork
and you know, opportunities
outside of school.
The students of today
are going to go into jobs
that don't even exist yet,
jobs that we can't even
imagine at this point
because computer science
and technology is changing so rapidly,
that the landscape of this
space is always evolving.
Having this foundational knowledge now,
opens doors that we don't
even know exist yet.
