When Smayan Deekonda was at the North Carolina School for Science and Mathematics, he started Coding Compass with the goal of helping more kids learn how to code.
Now, back at Cuthbertson High School in Waxhaw, Deekonda is continuing his mission with Coding Compass to inspire kids and teach them about computer coding and its relevance to their lives with chapters at schools across the state — including at Burke County’s own Mountain View Elementary School.
Participants in a previous Coding Compass event smile with the leaders of the nonprofit.
He attended a coding camp when he was younger that inspired him to obtain more than eight certifications from IBM in data science and artificial intelligence. He said he has also led research at UNC Chapel Hill.
In November 2023, while he was a junior at NCSSM-Morganton, Deekonda created Coding Compass to host coding camps like the one he attended for other kids.
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He said it was hard at first to figure out material the kids would understand and exercises they could complete, especially for children, but now he has a method.
“I like to speak to the parents first,†Deekonda said. “I like to explain to them, ‘Why coding, actually? What does coding bring to the kids’ lives? How does it add value to their lives, even if they decide not to choose computer science as they grow up?’â€
But coding is more than just a career path a child may choose, Deekonda said.
“Coding is more than just learning technology, it actually provides you the logical reasoning skills and critical-thinking skills that could be applied to any field,†Deekonda said.
When he talks to the kids, he said he asks them about their favorite video games.
Kids get to work discussing how coding works with Smayan Deekonda’s most-used first question: “What is your favorite video game?â€
“I ask them, ‘Have you ever wondered how the character knows to move on the screen when you click the right button?’†Deekonda said.
They start out learning block coding, which is a simplified coding where the code is made up of different blocks instead of writing full code in a language like Python, Deekonda said. Once they’ve finished the block code, kids can see how it would look without the blocks.
“It feels really amazing to hear positive feedback from parents after the events and how happy they are that their kids are able to learn this education for free. … It really fills my heart to know that we’re making an impact in our communities and they’re having fun and falling in love with the same thing that I fell in love with when I was a kid as well,†Deekonda said.
Deekonda is hoping to study business in college, something he plans to combine with his computer and data science skills. He said he’s grateful for his friends who have helped jumpstart Coding Compass, including Sai Mudigonda, Atharva Pande and Anwesha Manjarekar.
Learn more about Coding Compass at .
