In a world where computerized technology has become the norm, understanding the complex programming behind it is an important skill for any person to learn. Expertise in coding provides an advantage for any future career regardless of the industry. As the need for students to have a foundation in coding continues to grow, many public schools don’t offer quality coding courses and lessons to fill this need. There are many other organizations which do offer resources and courses but many of these organizations require a paid subscription and aren’t community oriented.
Redmond Code Association (RCA) is a 501(c)(3) organization founded by Shrey Shah, Nipun Goursetti, and Eric Ge to provide free courses and resources to the Redmond community, helping younger students learn computer science while promoting environmental stewardship. RCA has been developing and in operation since July 2022. Redmond Code Association strives to be a collaborative and inclusive computer science community where students can learn, innovate, and form meaningful connections.
RCA offers classes ranging from Python Art – intertwining creativity with logic – to database management. RCA ensures that there are classes available for all ages no matter the experience as every child deserves a chance to code. They have served communities within the Redmond area, but also have had the chance to work with students across the Pacific Northwest.
Shrey and Nipun hosting Introduction to Python series teaching basic string printing.
RCA, ever since its inception, has grown significantly in size, originally hosting classes with less than thirty students to over two hundred students in one event. They have impacted more than 3500 students across various backgrounds. Nipun Goursetti, who is the VP of Operations responsible for managing events, stated, “I’m in awe of the impact we have left through our classes, which can be seen in the attitudes of returning students.” RCA has become a household name within the Redmond area, with students coming back wanting to learn more.
However, RCA progress has had a few hurdles. Eric Ge, VP of Finance responsible for funding, states, “I think one of RCA’s biggest obstacles is the lack of funds to support our classes. More money would go long ways in improving our reach and variety of curriculum.” While RCA has received significant funds ~$6000, more funding would allow them to host larger events such as hackathons. As RCA continues to gain more students we still lack volunteers. RCA has supported over 25 volunteers since March of 2022, but with larger
in-person events, we are in need of more experienced volunteers. Pranav Narsipur, VP of Technology responsible for leading RCA’s event creation, states, “While my team has done a wonderful job creating events, having more volunteers is one improvement we foresee to implement later in the future which would help democratize access to coding education.”
Nipun, Pranav, and Eric rewiring computer hardware and removing usable components to use in events.
With RCA’s coding events being a success, RCA also started to integrate e-waste into its impact statement. Electronic waste holds some of the deadliest pollutants found in nature and with Redmond being the tech hub, RCA started its education to waste program. RCA collects e-waste from drives and then uses it to teach hardware based events such as Computers 101 where a CPU or RAM could be physically used by students to enhance their learning experience. Shrey Shah, Executive Director of RCA, states, “This program is taking down two major birds with one stone. RCA has one of the most unique impact statements compared to any other organization in the US.”
RCA Board/Volunteers at the Cascara E-Waste Drive where they collected 2000+ pounds of waste.
So far RCA has hosted two major e-waste drives collecting over 1.4 tons of e-waste from their local community. RCA by collecting all this waste has established a carbon negative status and hopes to collect 2.5 tons by 2025. Majority of RCA’s funding has been used for collecting, transporting, and distributing e-waste either to volunteers or local recycling facilities.
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E-waste drives hosted by RCA, doesn’t only reduce the quantity of e-waste, but also promote community participation. Debashish Ratnam, the VP of Marketing of RCA, created one reel which obtained over 4k views under 24 hours. By involving local residents and teens in recycling events, RCA creates a sense of collective responsibility. This engagement builds a more environmentally and sustainable focused community.
Redmond Code Association has had a notable impact in its community, from hosting massive online coding events to providing educational benefits through recycling drives.With this story, RCA hopes to inspire other organizations to create a similar waste-to-education initiative.
Students interested in attending RCA courses, or anyone interested in volunteering or donating, can do so on the website: redmondcodeassociation.org.