For Thomas Esayas, now a high school senior in Texas, the move to virtual learning during the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic was a chance to explore his interest in computer science. He began learning the basics of Python and working on projects, like trying to create a bot to search Amazon for available computer parts, with the goal of eventually building a computer.
“Once you know the syntax of a language, computer science is really about problem-solving,” Esayas says. “I enjoy challenging problems, especially those that require more thought than something that takes less time. I like the feeling of tackling a difficult task and overcoming it.”
Esayas' desire to gain iOS development experience led him to Empowr, a program that offers computer science training to Black high school students, aiming to support them throughout their high school years. After participating in Empowr for a year, he joined a pilot internship program this past summer. In this program, two Empowr students worked remotely with MIT Digital Learning Lab (DLL) scientists to create and enhance online learning content.
The DLL, a collaboration between MIT Open Learning and MIT’s academic departments, consists of academic staff and postdocs who work together on digital learning innovations both on campus and beyond. The idea for the internship emerged from a conversation between Empowr Executive Director Adrian Devezin and Mary Ellen Wiltrout, PhD ’09, director of blended and online initiatives in MIT's Department of Biology. They discussed how Empowr could support students by connecting them with high-quality internship opportunities, especially at MIT.
“There were many reasons to start this internship program,” says Wiltrout. “The DLL needed extra help, and Empowr had motivated students eager for coding experience and ready to tackle some complex problems.”