Audian’s Blog

Thinking back on our high school years, Saturday mornings were usually reserved for sleeping in, a TV show or two, or some lazy relaxing in your pajamas. Not for TeamsCode, the student-led organization that hosts high school programming contests. This fall, Audian was proud to again sponsor a TeamsCode programming competition at Mercer Island High School, where 144 students opted out of a typical Saturday morning for a computer science challenge. As part of Audian’s support, we were lucky enough to have three of our team members volunteer to judge the contest and boy were we amazed by the talent and drive seen in each team of students.

Coming from a telecom industry ripe for change, we recognize the important role innovation must play in the future of business and we’re thrilled to see how technology is the center of the younger generation’s focus. It’s amazing (and so inspiring!) to see a room full of students work through a challenge together in teams to solve a problem.

TeamsCode is a Seattle-area organization for students - and it is also run by students. They hold both programming contests and make online programming lessons available to students so they can prepare for the AP Computer Science A exam. The AP Computer Science A exam is all about creating programming problems and learning about complex data structures and algorithms. We had a chance to hear more about the event from our Audian team volunteers for firsthand reactions about their time spent with the students:

• “I’m continually amazed at the passion and dedication to the craft the kids at TeamsCode bring. Speaking to the kids about the power of building on ideas and innovating was an honor, and our team loved helping to guide and teach them. Well done, TeamsCode!”- Brandon, CEO
• “I had a great time. As a junior developer it was really interesting to speak with other judges and the participants about their experiences and giving the kids some advice on how I started my career.” - David, Support Engineer & Technical Writer
• “A couple of things that really stood out to me this year: How innovative some of the teams were in problem solving when they ran into issues; and, how this is exactly the name of the game in real-world development. I think it’s important to touch on the fact that almost every aspect of the TeamsCode event was run by students, for students. It’s inspiring to see students working together to create opportunity for each other in this respect.” - Anthony, Senior Product Manager

We’re so proud of both our team for their support and for the TeamsCode students on another job well done. At the end of the day, regardless of the winners, everyone walked away with more knowledge from the time shared together. We can’t wait to see what each of these bright, young minds does in the world during their careers!