Clubs are primarily intended to help students explore new ideas or offer extra academic support, some clubs however have to overcome obstacles to meet these goals.
Computer Science club was first established to help teach computer and programming skills to Carlmont students. However this goal wasn’t achieved until several years after the club was founded.
Junior Matthew Trost, Computer Science Club President, said, “The club was founded four years ago, but it didn’t really start until I became president two years after that. The original president only founded the club so he could put it on his college application, and he rarely even showed up.”
Juniors Matthew Trost and Alex Zuckut became club officers during their sophomore years. They worked through the 2013 school year to make the club more accessible and informative.
“When we first joined it didn’t really teach you anything everyone just assumed you had prior knowledge. We’re trying to open the club up to everyone regardless of their computer background,” said Zuckut, the Computer Science Club Vice President.
Computer Science Club is now much more organized, and works to teach students both basic and advanced programming skills.
Zuckut said “The state the club was in when we first joined is kind of a motivation for us. We want to prove that we have something great here, that our club is more than just a something to put on college apps.”
The club officers are also working to make the club more accessible to newcomers and those without previous programming knowledge.
Freshmen Edward Vendrow said “I would definitely join again next year. I’ve learned so much about programming, and I’ve only been in the club one quarter.”
Club members also want to take their knowledge of computers beyond the classroom. They plan to do this by entering programming competitions such as “HP code wars”.
The Computer Science Club members are passionate and determined to make their club a successful one. Despite its humble beginnings, Computer Science Club has come along way and is a viable resource for anyone hoping to gain programming skills.
