Coding camp mentors receive service awards and are ready for the summer season!

The Department of Computer Science is once again pleased to be the host site in Suffolk County for kidOYO K-12 summer camps. A kidOYO experience includes five full days of technology rich education and fun.

Students engage in an active learning experience that involves a number of technologies including Redstone, Lua, Raspberry Pi, Arduino, 3D printing, movie making and interstitials, soldering, graphic design, Python, HTML, CSS, Java, command blocks and more. These week-long summer camps are a mix of entrepreneurial spirit, creativity, team building and strategic planning. Students will have fun working in teams with mentors (including SBU CS students) on a variety of educational experiences!

Campers work with mentors, many of whom are current students and alums from the Department of Computer Science. These volunteer mentors provide one on one classroom support to students and they assist students with projects via the kidOYO online education portal. Earlier in 2018, kidOYO student mentors were recognized earlier this year with kidOYO Arie E. Kaufman Mentor Service awards. In addition to working the summer camp these astonishing student mentors spent their Sundays at workshops with kids on campus and they provided virtual mentoring to thousands of students.

The following mentors were honored for their kidOYO efforts: Bradley Turner (Computer Engineering), Jia Li (Computer Science), Tejas Prasad (Computer Science), Marisa Depasquale (Computer Science), Bryan Robicheau (Computer Science), Sanford Zheng (Computer Engineering), Sunwa Wu (Computer Science), Patrick Boucicault (Computer Science), Thierno Bah (Computer Science), Tyler Maciaszek (Computer Science) and Aura Gomex-Tangle (Tech and Society).

Mentor service awards range in value and depend on a student’s level of involvement. The awards were established by kidOYO’s founders Melora and Devon Loffreto in 2017 in appreciation and recognition of Kaufman’s efforts, advocacy and constant support. Overall, $100,000 in funding will be awarded to kidOYO student mentors who exhibit “exceptional service and mentorship.”

This year’s camps take place the weeks of July 9, July 16, July 23, July 30 and August 6. Interested participants can visit http://www.kidoyo.com/nyevents to register. Registration includes five days of summer camp tuition with events running from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. Students will pack their own lunch (except Friday) and will receive a t-shirt, water bottle & USB.

There are lots of summer camps... but there is only one kidOYO experience. For more information, email info@kidOYO.com. New campers and mentors are always welcome!  

Ask about the special camp discount for SBU faculty and staff.

-Joseph Wolkin