By SUMYA MOHIUDDIN
To honor Computer Science Education Week, (Dec. 9-15), Paul Marques and his students invited Attorney General Martha Coakley to teach an “Hour of Code”, which is a session demonstrated nationwide.
Coakley, who is currently campaigning for a position as governor, has a busy past that involves bringing justice to those who needed it, and creating prevention programs, relating to drugs and alcohol, in schools and communities. She wants to become a leader for the people and protect them from injustice. For her to become apart of Malden High School is only beneficial.
The purpose of the week was to “emphasize computer science” and increase the number of students nationwide. Currently, 60 percent of high- level jobs involve computer science. Also, there is a wide gap in the male to female ratio of those working in computer science.
Around 15 of Marques students, all with mixed abilities, were in attendance. Sophomore Mohsin Qureshi expressed his joy when many people attended and “[liked] the activities that were available through the website.” They spent an hour on Dec. 13, 2013 learning code.
Key students, such as Qureshi himself, sophomore Efran Himel, and senior Nidal Hishmeh, helped plan and execute the session. Qureshi became a large part in planning the event and “making sure everything went well.”
After Coakley assisted the group of students and talked to them about the importance of computer science, Qureshi assessed that “she seemed genuinely interested” in the students and their work.
Overall, because people use technology everyday, computer science has an impact on our lives either directly or indirectly. Qureshi believes that “[it comes] down to how [computer science] changes the way [someone thinks]… [it helps someone] break problems down and think logically and in steps.”
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