SJC Announces Computer Science Summer Program

June 15, 2015

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – June 15, 2015 - St. Joseph’s College (SJC) is pleased to announce that it will partner with Computer Science and Technology for Urban Youth (CSTUY) to host the Summer Hacker Immersion Program (SHIP) at SJC Brooklyn for the second straight year. Funded in part by a $1,000 grant from the Staples Foundation, this full-day program will serve 90 students from 32 high schools across New York City and will provide them with the foundations for successful careers in computer programming and applications. 

“With approximately 90 students this year, we’ve nearly doubled the number of students participating in this program,” said Dr. Jill Rehmann, interim dean of SJC’s Brooklyn Campus. “The generous support from the Staples Foundation enables SJC to make this commitment to youth who may have not otherwise have been able to participate, and we salute their commitment to education and job training.”

During the program, which runs from July 6 to July 31, SHIP will instruct students at three different levels. Students new to programming will learn basic computer science concepts using the Java and Processing programming languages, while intermediate students will use Python and Javascript to develop web-based applications that interface with real world services such as Twitter. Advanced teaching assistants will mentor beginner students and also study advanced concepts, such as augmented reality and data mining. 

These skills will be used to create final projects that will provide students with the opportunity to apply the concepts and talents learned during the program. These projects will include, creating games such as Pac Man or Asteroids, developing a web site that analyzes tweets written by politicians, or generating a program that allows users to take pictures and have the program identify it using data mining.

“This program enables students to spend four weeks learning computer science from educators who created the nationally-renowned computer science sequence at Stuyvesant High School while immersing themselves into life on a college campus,” said Mike Zamansky, founder, CSTUY. “By working together, St. Joseph’s College and CSTUY are able to provide this extraordinary program at a low price for those who can pay and for no cost to those who cannot.”

For more information, contact Michael Banach at 718.940.5584 or [email protected].

ABOUT STAPLES COMMUNITY AND GIVING
Staples contributes to educational and job-related community efforts with a primary focus on disadvantaged youth, from literacy and mentoring to career skills development, through in-kind and monetary donations and grants from Staples Foundation, the private charitable arm of Staples, Inc. Through its community and giving efforts, Staples and Staples Foundation have helped more than 7,000 organizations in 26 countries. 

ABOUT ST. JOSEPH’S COLLEGE
St. Joseph’s College has been dedicated to providing a diverse population of students in the New York metropolitan area with an affordable education rooted in the liberal arts tradition since 1916. Independent and coeducational, the College provides a strong academic and value-oriented education at the undergraduate and graduate levels, aiming to prepare each student for a life characterized by integrity, intellectual and spiritual values, social responsibility, and service. With campuses located in the Clinton Hill area of Brooklyn and in Patchogue, Long Island, the College offers degrees in more than 35 majors, special course offerings and certifications, affiliated and pre-professional programs.