Code Haven

Our Mission:

At Code Haven, we are driven by a commitment to inclusively expand access to computer science for middle school students, irrespective of their prior interests. Our overarching goal is to inspire and encourage students from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds to explore and pursue education and careers in STEM fields.

Our Activities:

Code Haven, a Yale undergraduate student organization, dedicates itself to providing weekly computing lessons at New Haven middle schools. Through a dynamic approach that combines online lessons, unplugged activities, and engaging class-wide demonstrations, we strive to make computer science accessible to all students. Our mission remains steadfast in breaking barriers and fostering a love for coding, irrespective of prior interest or knowledge.

Student Leaders:

Meet our dedicated student leaders:

• Gauri Purohit: Co-Coordinator/Co-President
• Marcella Villagomez: Co-Coordinator/Co-President

Together, we are Code Haven, working towards a future where every middle school student has the opportunity to explore and excel in the world of computer science.

Mission

Code Haven?s mission is to inclusively increase access to computer science among middle school students, regardless of previous interest. Code Haven hopes to encourage and inspire students of different socioeconomic backgrounds to pursue education and careers in STEM.

Student Leaders

Annie Gu – Co-Coordinator/Co-President Chloe Wu – Co-Coordinator/Co-President

Activities

Demo Day Direct Service Demo Day happens at the end of the Fall Semester, and it is a day to celebrate our students and everything they’ve accomplished. All Code Haven classes come to Yale for a day of activities and fun. Students will get the opportunity to show off their work, engage with students from other schools, receive a tour of Yale, and learn more about Computer Science from Yale professors/speakers. Code Haven Weekly Mentoring Direct Service Each week, Code Haven mentors go into 10+ NHPS middle school classrooms to work with their students, teaching introductory CS topics and principles, aiming to inclusively increase computer science accessibility throughout New Haven middle schools. Demo Day (R2) Direct Service Demo Day happens at the end of the Fall Semester, and it is a day to celebrate our students and everything they’ve accomplished. All Code Haven classes come to Yale for a day of activities and fun. Students will get the opportunity to show off their work, engage with students from other schools, receive a tour of Yale, and learn more about Computer Science from Yale professors/speakers. Code Haven Weekly Mentoring (R2) Direct Service Each week, Code Haven mentors go into 10+ NHPS middle school classrooms to work with their students, teaching introductory CS topics and principles, aiming to inclusively increase computer science accessibility throughout New Haven middle schools. Code Haven Hackathon Direct Service The Code Haven Hackathon serves as an end-of-year event for all students that participated in Code Haven’s academic curriculum. The Hackathon will be an all-day, collaborative initiative that will allow students to develop a game in scratch using the skills they have learned throughout the semester. Code Haven Weekly Outreach Direct Service Code Haven is a student outreach organization that goes into New Haven public schools weekly to teach the fundamentals of computer science. For the spring semester, our curriculum is based on student-led project development, where students create their own versions of classic games, such as Flappy Bird. Code Haven Weekly Mentoring Direct Service Each week, Code Haven mentors go into 10+ NHPS middle school classrooms to work with their students (this year over 200 students total), teaching introductory CS topics and principles, aiming to inclusively increase computer science accessibility throughout New Haven middle schools. We teach students both in Scratch as well as Python depending on grade level and prior experience. Students spend most of the first semester covering key computer science concepts preparing them for the second semester where they will develop their own projects. Demo Day Direct Service Demo Day happens at the end of the Fall Semester, and it is a day to celebrate our students and everything they’ve accomplished. All Code Haven classes (200+ students across 10+ classes) come to Yale for a day of activities and fun. Students will get the opportunity to show off their work, engage with students from other schools, receive a tour of Yale, and learn more about Computer Science from Yale professors/speakers. Hackathon Direct Service Our annual Junior Hackathon supports an all-day event for our Code Haven students. Students will work in groups to solve a coding problem. CS Teaching/Outreach at NHPS Schools Direct Service Every week, mentor groups travel to NHPS Schools to teach CS curriculum to students from fifth through eighth graders. Hackathon Direct Service Code Haven will host all of our students at Yale for our End of Year Hackathon. Students will show compete in the Hackathon for various prizes. We look forward to welcoming our students to campus to see the progress they have made!

How Others Get Involved

Applications open at the beginning of each semester! Reach us at codehavenyale@gmail.com