With the end of the school year on the horizon, seniors involved in Pinewood’s Tech Club are preparing to hand over the reins to the next generation of coders. As one of Pinewood’s most Solar Panels Could Come to Upper Campusprominent STEM-oriented student organizations, the club aims to involve its members in a variety of activities that will strengthen their computational skills.

Seniors Rosalie Wessels, Sally King, Ayana Jassal, Carolyn Steeg, Seika Oelschig, and Akash Kumar participated in a 24-hour Hackathon in March, their last major competition of the year. It took place at Juniper Network’s Aspiration Dome, hosting over 425 attendees. In a bittersweet fashion, the experience served as a reminder of how far they have grown in their interests for coding.

Tech Club President Rosalie Wessels said that Tech Club has become a huge part of her life.

“I started going to tech club meetings from the first day of school,” Wessels said. “About halfway through my freshman year, I took on more of a leadership role, which involved coordinating more projects.”

The Tech Club has been central to the development of Wessels’ interests in computer science and engineering.

“I think the club has definitely reinforced my passion for tech. I was already interested in the field, but I loved the collaborative nature of our projects. I want [the younger members] to keep it going strong,” Wessels said. “They’re definitely going to become more involved in coding, which was my goal from the start.”

King, the vice president, said the skills she has picked up throughout her time coding in high school will serve her there in the future.

“For me, participating in the hackathons a few times each year has really taught me to work efficiently,” King said. “I also learned how to collaboratively code and present a project in front of a panel of judges, which strengthened my public speaking skills.”

As King leaves for the University of California Berkeley, she hopes that the Tech Club will remain an open space for students to explore and develop lasting relationships with a diverse group of coders.

Senior Akash Kumar explains how the club motivated him to delve deeper into his interest in coding.

“Personally, having that little jump when an algorithm works is deeply fulfilling,” Kumar said. “I wanted to use my time towards longer lasting projects, like the spirit point tracker for Pinewood that we’ve been working on throughout the year.”