724 Dallas Independent School District (DISD) students from various NAF academies and Capital One volunteers joined together at Capital One’s Monster Coding Jam Session on Halloween
DALLAS – Monday, Oct. 31, 2016 – Capital One has set a new GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ title for the Largest programming lesson at a “Monster Coding Jam” session attended by 724 participants, including 560 Dallas Independent School District (DISD) students from various NAF academies and 164 volunteers. These scary smart ninth-graders kicked off Techweek Dallas by learning the basics of app creation and developing their very own “monster mash” gaming app. The previous record was held by a programming class of 712 participants, organized by the Lithuanian MEP Antanas Guoga, on Sept. 9, 2016, in Vilnius, Lithuania.
As a part of Future Edge DFW – Capital One’s commitment to help the region get ready for tomorrow, today – Capital One associates and others across the metroplex volunteered at the event to give students hands-on experience in software development and problem solving, and introduce them to opportunities in the technology field. Emmy-award winning radio and TV talk show host Mario Armstrong emceed the event.
“Capital One created the C1 Coders curriculum, leveraging MIT’s App Inventor 2, to help local students understand and pursue their interests in STEM fields during a critical period in their education,” said Mark Cauwels, Vice President, Technology, Financial Services, Capital One. “We’re thankful for all of the students and volunteers that came out today to help us set the new GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ title and show the world that programming and app development can be fun and rewarding.”
NAF President, JD Hoye, said, “Today’s event is a shining example of what we can accomplish when business and education work together to make a difference for young people. Through public-private partnerships, we can provide these kinds of learning experiences that prepare our future workforce. Capital One has stepped up and made their commitment to our students, and we hope other business leaders will be inspired to do the same. NAF is extremely grateful for all of the hard work that made today possible. The impact and connections are truly priceless.”
Through Future Edge DFW, Capital One is passionate about ensuring Dallas-Fort Worth continues to be a leading world-renowned technology hub, and celebrating and nurturing the future leaders of our communities. As an extension of this initiative, Capital One organized this event during Techweek, a week-long technology event for entrepreneurs, tech visionaries and thought leaders. Capital One is proud to be the presenting sponsor of Techweek’s first-ever Dallas event this year. See a full list of Techweek Dallas events here: http://techweek.com/dallas-schedule/.
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About Capital One
Capital One Financial Corporation (www.capitalone.com) is a financial holding company whose subsidiaries, which include Capital One, N.A., and Capital One Bank (USA), N.A., had $226.0 billion in deposits and $345.1 billion in total assets as of September 30, 2016. Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, Capital One offers a broad spectrum of financial products and services to consumers, small businesses and commercial clients through a variety of channels. Capital One, N.A. has branches located primarily in New York, Louisiana, Texas, Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey and the District of Columbia. A Fortune 500 company, Capital One trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “COF” and is included in the S&P 100 index.
About NAF
NAF is a national network of education, business, and community leaders who work together to ensure high school students are college, career, and future ready. NAF’s educational design ignites students’ passion for learning and gives businesses the opportunity to shape America’s future workforce by transforming the learning environment to include STEM infused industry-specific curricula and work-based learning experiences, including internships. Since 1982, NAF has been partnering with existing high schools in high-need communities to enhance school systems at a low cost by implementing NAF academies – small learning communities within traditional high schools. NAF has grown from one NAF Academy of Finance in New York City to hundreds of academies across the country focusing on growing industries including: finance, hospitality & tourism, information technology, engineering, and health sciences. During the 2015-16 school year nearly 89,000 students attended 716 NAF academies across 36 states, including DC and the US Virgin Islands. In 2015, NAF academies reported 98% of seniors graduated with 92% of graduates planning to go to college.
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