Maxwell Gomberg, a ninth grader at the Bridgehampton School, recently put his love of computer technology to good use in a national coding contest. His team emerged the first-place winner on Jan. 31 at the competition's advanced level II.
During the monthlong project, Maxwell was matched up with other students from across the country for twice-weekly training sessions with a professional mentor. The goal was to tackle problems related to the United Nations' sustainable development goals. Maxwell explained that on the weekend of the Code-a-Thon, "our team needed to agree on the issue we would try to solve." The students settled on the idea of creating a theoretical nonprofit organization, Internet for All, which would partner with a satellite internet company to bring internet access to underserved communities. The team then developed a website to support its project.
"This project allowed me to sharpen my HTML, CSS, and JavaScript coding skills, but the most important part was teamwork and collaboration," Maxwell said in an email. "The win was awesome. My teammates and I were excited and surprised, and we each won a home theater projector."
He was encouraged to sign up for the competition by the Bridgehampton Child Care and Recreational Center. The center has a partnership with the Code-a-Thon organizer, We-Connect-the-Dots, which is a national organization that provides educational opportunities and career training for students in the fields of science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics.
"Congratulations, Maxwell Gomberg, for a job well done!" the center said in an announcement.
Maxwell's proud parents are Michael Gomberg and Anne Tschida Gomberg, who said they are grateful to the center for telling the Bridgehampton School about the competition.
"It was all virtual this year, which really opened up the opportunity for us out here on the East End," Ms. Gomberg said in an email. "Maxwell's participation in the project sparked an interest at school in forming a computer and coding club so other kids can learn to build a computer and code. That is another positive outcome."