Haley Stevens

Computing labs in the Jeffress Center serve as incubator for creativity

To reinforce the commitment to create access and opportunity for the community, last fall Schoolcraft College joined with Girls Who Code, an international, non-profit organization committed to increasing access for girls and women in computer science and technology.

Two Club sessions – one for grades 3-5 and one for grades 6-12 – were launched in the fall and continued into the winter. Each cohort of about 40 students meets from 2 to 4 p.m. on Saturdays in the computing labs in the Jeffress Center.

The program combines sisterhood activities and coding exercises working toward a community-based project, such as a website or animation. Schoolcraft College Student Ambassadors, local high school students, and community volunteers (AAUW – American Association of University Women) currently serve as Facilitators.

Haley Stevens looking at a computer with children — U.S. Representative Haley Stevens takes a look at what students in the cohort of grades 3-5 are creating during a visit to Schoolcraft College on Saturday, February 12.

Tyler Johnson, Culinary Arts; Faith Piontek, Computer Science; and Caryn Doehler, AAUW; are the Facilitators for the younger students. Reigan Henderson, Student Ambassador/Honors Scholar, and Emily Dobao, a senior at Livonia Stevenson, are the Facilitators for the older students.

The results have been impressive – so much so that U.S. Representative Haley Stevens dropped by on Saturday, February 12, for a first-hand look.

“First of all, Schoolcraft College feels like a home away from home,” said Stevens, who represents Michigan’s 11^th District* “It is very energizing to see girls of all ages, from elementary to middle to high school, plus the next generation of women who are working with the students and finishing their studies here before going off to a four-year school.”

The coding curriculum includes important programs such as Scratch, Python, HTML, Java Script, C, C++ and CSS.

“It’s exciting to see young girls who often might feel blocked out from technology or feeling it’s not accessible to them now making games or coming up with different types of programs because they have student leaders and they have a place at Schoolcraft College to engage in this program,” Stevens said. “You hear about Girls Who Code, but seeing it in action, that is everything.”

Girls Who Code is free to participants and made possible at Schoolcraft thanks to generous support from the Schoolcraft College Foundation and MASCO.

Haley Stevens and others — Shown in the room with the cohort for grades 6-12 are (left to right) Reigan Henderson, Student Ambassador/Honors Scholar and recently accepted into the University of Michigan’s nursing program; U.S. Representative Haley Stevens; Emily Dobao, a senior at Livonia Stevenson and recently accepted to the University of Michigan to study Computer Science Engineering; and Heddy Worden, Director of Strategic Enrollment and lead for the Girls Who Code program at Schoolcraft College.

Heddy Worden, Director of Strategic Enrollment, serves as the lead for the Girls Who Code program at Schoolcraft College and is at the Jeffress Center each Saturday to ensure everything runs smoothly.

“Together, we are building a partnership that addresses an unserved need, setting the stage for continued academic growth and prosperity among those we serve,” Worden said.

“By utilizing our Student Ambassadors, Schoolcraft Scholars Honors Program students, and local high school students to serve as Facilitators, we are cultivating a transformational leadership experience that reinforces their commitment to the College and the cause.”

For more information on Schoolcraft College’s Girls Who Code program, and to learn how you can become a Facilitator, please contact Heddy Worden at [email protected] or 734-462-4548. Learn more about Girls Who Code on their website.

*Michigan’s 11th Congressional District contains portions of Wayne and Oakland Counties. Major cities include Auburn Hills, Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills, Canton Township, Clawson, Commerce Township, Farmington, Highland Township, Lake Angelus, Livonia, Lyon Township, Milford Township, Northville, Novi, Plymouth, Rochester Hills, South Lyon, Troy, Walled Lake, Waterford, West Bloomfield, White Lake Township, and Wixom.

Students share ideas, experiences as they start their career track

Congresswoman Haley Stevens, who represents Michigan’s 11^th District in the U.S. House of Representatives, hosted a student roundtable with fellows in her office’s Summer Leadership Development program and other students on Friday, July 16, in the VisTaTech Center on the campus of Schoolcraft College.

Rep. Stevens was joined by Rep. Darren Soto, of Florida, who is the Chair of the House Future Forum Caucus; Rep. Stevens serves as Vice-Chair and has been a member since 2019.

Established in 2015, Future Forum is a generational caucus that includes 50 young Members of Congress who focus on issues important to younger Americans. Their work is guided by three core principles:

Bridging the divide between young Americans and their government.
Engaging with and empowering young voters.
Inspiring the next generation of leaders in public service.

Michigan’s 11th Congressional District contains portions of Wayne and Oakland Counties. Major cities in the district include several that are part of Schoolcraft College’s district – Canton Township, Livonia, Northville and Plymouth. So having Schoolcraft as the site of the forum was a natural one to listen to the voices of younger people.

“(Schoolcraft College) is a destination in Michigan’s 11th District. This is a destination in Michigan in general for training and educating our workforce and plugging into jobs and opportunities.”
Rep. Haley Stevens, Michigan’s 11th District

“20 percent of our district is under the age of 18 years old,” Rep. Stevens noted. “What’s going on is a real demand for talent. We’ve had a lot of people leave the labor force.

“(Schoolcraft College) is a destination in Michigan’s 11^th District. This is a destination in Michigan in general for training and educating our workforce and plugging into jobs and opportunities.

Rep. Haley Stevens welcomes the attendees to the roundtable.

“The other thing is not just the demand for your talent, but with your skill. How do we connect you with a skill that can never be taken from you?”

Developing a skill, or more to the point, a trade through an apprenticeship, is something that Logan Leinbach did while at Schoolcraft College. Leinbach, who spoke at the forum, is the first Woodwork Manufacturing Specialist apprentice.

This position combines skills from computer numerical control (CNC), computer-aided design (CAD) and bench carpentry. It rose out of a need at Leinbach’s employer, Burke Architectural Millwork in Livonia.

“I sat down with my boss, looked at the apprenticeships, which were very specific, and we took bits and pieces and combined them to create an apprenticeship that’s more broad,” Leinbach said. “I’m also learning project management and some of the higher aspects functions of the company so I’m better set to move up in the company or start my own company because I have knowledge of multiple areas.”

Leinbach was joined by fellow Schoolcraft College student Volkan Salmani, who is majoring in CAD and also works as a manufacturing tech lab assistant at the Manufacturing & Engineering Center.

“I definitely enjoyed the program. It’s really awesome to hear from the other young people about their ideas. It was really great,” he said.

Pamela Linton, Apprenticeship Coordinator for Occupational Programs, and Karen Maxton, Employment and Internship Coordinator for Occupational Programs, attended the forum and know first-hand the struggles employers are having to find skilled workers. They work each day to help connect students to opportunities in business and industry.

“Hearing these young people share their experiences about the challenges students face in learning about a range of post-secondary education and career options was both affirming and motivating,” Linton said. “Affirming in that we are definitely on the right track here at the College in our strong outreach efforts and relationship-building with area middle and high schools. And motivating in that we need to keep working hard to get the word out to students about the many outstanding opportunities available to them, especially at Schoolcraft.”

Maxton echoed Linton’s sentiments and was glad to hear that students are open to exploring a variety of options.

“I truly enjoyed watching Congresswoman Stevens interact with so many young people at her recent Future Forum event at Schoolcraft College,” she said. “Many of the students focused on the need for greater career exploration in high school, particularly in the area of apprenticeships and internships, which we were thrilled to hear.

“We couldn’t agree more that students need to truly understand all of the different career pathways available to them. There are so many in-demand, well-paying careers out there, particularly in the professional trades area, and we appreciate Congresswoman Stevens’ interest in highlighting those opportunities.

Dr. Michele Kelly, Dean of Liberal Arts and Sciences, also was an attendee. She was impressed by how engaged the students were.

“Personally, I was inspired by how much our young people were paying attention and how eloquently they were able to articulate exactly what they need from our government representatives,” she said. “Even though some of the attendees were under voting age, it was clear that when it is time their voices will be loud and clear. It gave me a lot of hope for our future and confidence that Schoolcraft is particularly well-poised to be an integral part of such a bright future.”