Fall 2018 Mission High School highlight

At Mission Bit we like to celebrate the work that our students and volunteers do year-round. We are proud to introduce you to our student and volunteer who worked so hard in our Game Design with Unity course at Mission High School this Fall semester. Check out our student and volunteer picture and highlight below.

Meet Makai Bell!

Zodiac Sign: Pisces

Favorite Color: Red

Spirit Animal: Tiger

Why did you decide to take a course at Mission Bit?

I wanted to learn coding and learn how to make video games.

What advice would you give to future students of the program?

Pay attention to everything because tech is a good career path.

What problem in San Francisco do you think Technology should solve?

Traffic and public transportation.

Meet Stephen Reed!

Current Company/Venture: Uber Advanced Technologies Group

Zodiac Sign: Gemini

Favorite Color: Blue

Spirit Animal: Cheetah

Why is it important for software engineers to volunteer with organizations like Mission Bit?

For me, and likely for many, I found software development (and learning how to develop software especially) a collaborative effort. Mission Bit is the avenue for those of us who have experienced the growing pains to offer support, encouragement, and insights — we can really taking advantage of the collaborative nature while giving back to the local community that has played host to our industry.

What gives you hope about today’s high school students?

They have the innate ability to research and seek out answers in a way that was just beginning to emerge when I was in high school. The more they discover and understand things on their own I think, the better.

What problem in San Francisco do you think Technology should solve?

This is a tough question, as there are many problems we’re dealing with together. I’ll use the project of a former Mission Bit student as an example. He created a game in which the user would walk through the Tenderloin District, meeting and learning about the backgrounds of the individuals living on the streets. It was an incredibly eye-opening project for me — as I understood it, he was looking to teach and foster empathy. So often in the tech world we are caught up in the innovation, the unicorns, and the money. I believe this particular student had it right — let’s use technology to develop an empathetic community, and bring positive attention to those who have been forgotten by the tech boom.

Do you know a student who is interested in taking a Mission Bit course? Our Spring 2019 registration closes on Friday, January 18th at 5pm, register now by clicking here.

Interested in becoming part of our volunteer team? Join us at our next volunteer orientation on Tuesday, January 8th. Sign up here or click here to learn more about Mission Bit.