Niwot High School Clubs - Spotlight on the Coding Club

Niwot High School is host to over 60 student-run clubs, and one stand-out is the Coding Club.

In the words of Justin Ge, one of the Niwot High School Coding Club's leaders, "Niwot's Coding Club offers everything about coding. We are a collection of driven individuals who love creating and enjoy problem solving. During meetings, we code a wide range of things, including 2D and 3D games, technical coding problem sets, personal websites, PCB boards, and more. Alongside projects, we also offer an atmosphere with a competitive edge, comprising multiple first-place winners and podium competitors in various coding competitions."

Coding Club offers students unique opportunities to grow in many ways. Whether it be students getting better at something they're already good at or learning something for the first time, Coding Club is a valuable space for any passionate student to involve themselves. Students interested in technology, whether for fun or to explore opportunities for a possible career path, can find a community of like-minded participants.

Teacher sponsor Teresa Ewing facilitates meetings, but club founders Justin Ge and Shiva Garuda as well as club secretary Mohi Bauer run the meetings. Club members include Diya Mehta, Victor Wang, Drake Hanson, Fred Zorgdrager, Dinh Pham, Rohit Das, Andrew Fong, Naman Saluja, and Alex Rutt.

During the 2023-2024 school year so far, Coding Club has worked on a collaborative 2D game in which the character collects coins and completes different levels, as well as Coding Competition practice problems in Python, a high-level programming language. While working on these practice problems, club members were taught different algorithms and coding syntaxes.

Select club members have chosen to compete in coding competitions such as Lockheed Martin's Annual CodeQuest on Feb. 24, and the Colorado School of Mines Programming Competition coming up on April 20. NHS students placed fourth at Lockheed Martin's Annual CodeQuest, a state-wide coding contest.

"As coding soon becomes a lot more prevalent in the world, it is increasingly more important to become 'literate,'" said Justin Ge when discussing his reasons for starting Coding Club with Garuda. "Plus, coding cool things is always awesome."