Developer Dawgs Software Camp prepares students for the future
Mississippi State University Research and Curriculum Unit’s Center for Cyber Education hosted the Developer Dawgs Software Camp in partnership with Cspire last week for high school students across Mississippi to take their coding skills to the next level. The immersive, three-day camp was originally created for students in the Software Development Pathway Program and prepare them for future computer science career opportunities.
Shelly Hollis, who serves as the assistant director for the Center for Cyber Education, has been actively involved with the initiative to promote cyber education throughout Mississippi with opportunities like the software camp. Hollis helped organize and facilitate the camp, and she shared insight on the goals and purposes for the camp as well as the various opportunities for students attending.
“We have students in the state who are going through the Software Development Pathway, and they’re learning the technical skills and coding languages such as Python and Javascript, but they didn’t have the opportunity to really practice
those skills working in teams, learn what it’s like to go into an interview, or build a digital portfolio,” said Hollis. “It’s important for them to learn as early as possible that there are many variables involved in coding and creating a final product.”
The camp provided firsthand experience for students to see the full process of developing software and how an idea phase or request from a customer progresses to a finished product by creating their own projects. Throughout the week, the students worked in teams of four to create and present a fully developed website or application for assigned topics based on a variety of client needs.
The students heavily relied on teamwork and collaboration in order to complete their projects and were always extremely excited to work towards the final product. Ava Noe is a rising sophomore at Lafayette High School, and her group project was to create a website to help students find summer jobs.
“We were given three days to create something while also tag-teaming with another group, and we came out with a final project which was incredible to me,” said Noe. “We talked to mock clients throughout the camp and got right into coding. We did run into a few malfunctions and lost code, but it was really cool to see our team bounce back together.”
The camp also invited different industry representatives such as C-spire, Fedex, Corelogic, Mississippi State University’s
National Strategic Planning & Analysis Research Center (NSPARC), the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, and Lobaki, a Virtual Reality company based in Jackson.
By talking to each company, students learned how software development varies from large to small companies and what the creation process entails. Furthermore, company representatives held mock interviews for students to practice interview skills and shared presentations for building resumes to prepare for their future career in the field.
“I want to go into software development, but I didn’t know how much went into it until this week,” said Noe. “I’ve networked for four major companies in just three days, and I also personally loved the mock interviews and getting practice with that because a lot of us have never been in that kind of situation.”
When students weren’t working on their projects, the camp’s agenda kept students busy with fun and engaging activities such as solving an escape room, a group movie night, and virtual reality experience.
Hollis has high hopes of continuing the Developer Dawgs Camp for upcoming years as well as expanding the Software Development Pathway Program. Currently, eleven schools across Mississippi are participating in the program, and Hollis continues to work with the Department of Education to push the initiative and establish computer science courses and curriculums for students at all grade levels.
The pathway program offers a variety of dual credit courses that prepare students, and the goal is for students to be able to complete community college one
year out of high school and have an Associate of Applied Science degree. Therefore, students are ready to go into the workforce as a junior level software developer.
Hayden Shue recently graduated from Brandon High School and plans to attend Hinds Community College for database system informations. Shue, like a majority of the students at the camp, participated in the pathway program and emphasized its importance.
“When the program was first introduced to my school, I was able to take dual credit classes like Python and Sequence Career Language,” said Shue. “Sequence Career Language was one of the most ideal classes I was looking for, and I realized that that was the career I wanted to do. The classes you take will definitely be useful for your future career.”
This past spring, the Mississippi legislature passed a bill that requires schools across the state to offer computer science courses at all grade levels by the school year 2024-2025. The future for young students interested in a computer science career in Mississippi is bright, and programs such as the Developer Dawgs Software Camp continue to have a positive impact for students involved.
“This camp is just an experience you need to take if you want to go into computer coding,” said Shue. “For me, it’s going to help me tremendously. Having these connections I have now will allow me to go places I haven’t even thought of. Overall, this camp has developed me as a person and is taking me to my future goals.”