Heddy Worden

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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 11th 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.

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The Lunar New Year begins February 1

In the United States, “Holiday Season” refers to the period from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day. For some countries and cultures, however, an important holiday is on the horizon. That holiday is the Lunar New Year, which is celebrated in many Asian countries as well as by people of Asian descent living in other nations. Heddy Worden, Director of Strategic Enrollment, graciously provided the following story on the Lunar New Year.

Colorful strings of lanterns
The Lantern Festival includes lit lanterns, representing family reunion and society, illuminating the night sky.

On Tuesday, February 1, over 1.5 billion people around the world will gather in celebration of the Lunar New Year—the first new moon of the lunisolar calendar!

This year celebrates the year of the Tiger, specifically the Water Tiger, a symbol representing strength, vitality and courage.

Also known as the Chinese New Year and Spring Festival, this ancient tradition was established millennia ago during the Han Dynasty and remains one of the most honored celebrations among Asian countries, including China, South Korea, and Singapore. Other Asian countries celebrate this time by a different name. In Vietnam, for example, the Lunar New Year is known as Tết, and in Tibet as Losar.

The Lunar New Year is, first and foremost, a time of family and gathering. It is a time to reunite with loved ones, solidify relationships, honor those who have gone before and rejoice in all that is new and positive. With over 1.5 billion travelling at one time, the Lunar New Year has been regarded as the single largest annual migration on the planet. This extraordinary period of travel even has a special name, Chunyun.

Colorful dragon costumes and presentation
Dragon dances are used to ward off bad omens.

During this time the special Chinese character Fù, printed on red paper and hung upside-down, adorns several city streets and households. The character represents fortune and good luck, while the diamond signifies that fortune is arriving.

Households undergo a thorough cleaning prior to the start of the Lunar New Year. All debts are paid and extravagant meals consisting of several dishes accompany the celebration, as do dances and astounding acrobatics. Among the most anticipated are the Lion and Dragon dances. These mythical figures, encased in red and accompanied by fireworks, are used to ward off bad omens and the ancient monster known as Nian. 

Numbers like 8 and 7, colors like red and gold, and fruits hold special meaning during the celebration and are intended to attract good luck.

Other practices and superstitions include:

  • Wearing new clothing in bright colors – black and white clothes are associated with mourning. 
  • Eating dumplings – the word dumpling is jiao zi, which closely resembles the Chinese adage of “out with the old and in with the new.”
  • Refraining from using scissors as they signifying severing rather than reuniting.
  • Not purchasing or gifting books during the celebration as the word for book, shứ, sounds too close to “lose.”
Two children smiling
Children receive red envelopes containing money.

The Lunar New Year celebration lasts for 16 days during which elders and parents present children and unmarried adults with red envelopes or pockets, hóng bāo, containing money and their well wishes for the new year. 

The celebration concludes with the much-anticipated Lantern Festival, during which millions of lit lanterns, representing family reunion and society, illuminate the night sky and herald in a bright new future.