CodeMontana, a program comprising of over 1,200 junior high and high school students across Montana, will now be administered by Montana Tech.
The program's relocation from Bozeman is being made possible by a gift of $220,000 from the Gianforte Family Foundation, announced this morning at Tech.
The program was created by Greg Gianforte and Rob Irizarry to introduce junior high and high school students to computer programming at earlier ages.
“I’m a firm believer that computers are here to stay,” said Greg Gianforte, founder of RightNow Technologies in Bozeman. “We need to enable our kids to not just be consumers of digital devices, but to be masters of digital devices. This kind of pre-college training prepares them for high wage jobs and great careers. Entrusting CodeMontana to Montana Tech is a logical choice to retain these students for our thriving high tech industry in Montana.”
CodeMontana will continue as the same program, but its new home will offer further mentorship for CodeMontana students from current Computer Science students at Tech. The added mentorship will encourage students to complete CodeMontana and motivate them to choose a career in Computer Science at Montana Tech.
In addition to relocating CodeMontana to Montana Tech, the $220,000 gift from the Gianforte Family Foundation will allow Tech to hire a full-time coordinator to administer CodeMontana and recruit Computer Science students from Montana high schools.
“This is a tremendous opportunity for our faculty and students to work closely with future Montana Tech Orediggers. From our first year experience, we know this program will help Montana Tech recruit the finest Computer Science students from across Montana,'' said Tech Chancellor Don Blackketter.
Details: www.CodeMontana.org.