GRAND RAPIDS, Mich — Teaching someone to create the coding for a website - like the one you are on right now - is not easy. That's because coding takes skill, the right tools, and the right mentors to help someone see things from the side of a creator and not just a user. Those hurdles are even taller if the students are in a community that doesn't have access to that type of education, a problem Luis Perez sees nationwide.
“When you look at the STEM field, you don't see a lot of diversity."
That’s where Code on Wheels comes into play.
The non-profit is in its second year bringing tech education to students in what can be considered more underserved areas around Grand Rapids. With the goal of the program being to show the kids that there is a path to a possible career field that needs their perspective.
"If you look at, in general, the industry, you see that STEM is one of those leading fields that is always going to keep growing with A.I. and all those new tools coming up," said Code on Wheels executive director Perez. "It's going to keep growing more, right? I think our community has always been part of the consumers. And now we try to make them to the creators.”
According to the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics 24% of the STEM workforce as of 2021 was made up of minorities, and Code on Wheels is hoping to help those numbers grow. Or at the very least, give students the tools to open doors for the future.
“That's the primary nature of the field with technology, what we're really trying to center on is teaching them self-efficacy so that they can be self-motivated to learn new skills and abilities," Program Director Geraldo Gonzalaz told us.
Skills and abilities - that in many cases - are being taught for the first time by a familiar face.
“For us, when we started, we knew that we had to go to different communities who haven't been exposed to it," said Advancement Director for CoW, Angel Cruz. "Because we figure when students can see someone that looks like them, teaching them something that they never thought of, maybe they could see themselves and their shoes and be like, Hey, maybe I can do this for the future.”
Even if the students take a different path forward– getting the chance to learn only helps add to the future of an industry that needs as many voices as possible to build it.
"If you want diversity, you have to make sure you're accessible," said Cruz.
And that’s exactly what Code on Wheels is trying to do.s
But they always could use some extra help in the form of donations and equipment.
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