High School Students Learn to Code at Melaleuca IT Camp
Each year, a group of bright Idaho high school students is selected to attend a free weeklong IT training program at Melaleuca Global Headquarters. Intended to help students prepare for future technology opportunities, Melaleuca’s IT Boot Camp centered on providing hands-on training and in-person instruction from BYU–Idaho computer information technology professor Nathan Birch and several Melaleuca IT executives.
While serving lunch each day, Melaleuca brought in their top IT executives to share their personal and professional experiences as well as offer advice about career opportunities.
The students agreed that after these five days, whether they entered the camp with extensive IT experience or not, they enhanced their coding skills and gained a mindset focused on problem solving and creative thinking. And they had a lot of fun!
What the Students Achieved
Some students, like Zoey, created webpages for their academic portfolios and personal brands. Zoey had never coded before and described the course as “taking a big leap.” She said the experience greatly increased her interest in computer science, because the instructor clearly explained the ins and outs of the coding process and made it so rewarding.
Kyler also created a personal webpage where he’s keeping track of all the music he makes.
Other students, like Zion and Jasmine, saw the IT boot camp as an opportunity to further a specific goal. Zion took advantage of personal instruction to design a website for her senior project, which will be to create an e-commerce business selling healthy sweets.
“I’m grateful that Melaleuca invested so much into this program by developing a coding boot camp that teaches students based on real-world situations,” said Zion. “This was an amazing learning experience! I learned so much every day, gained new skills and made new friends.”
Two students, Carter and Max, decided to get extra creative and create video games. With some previous web-development experience, Carter decided to develop a game based on the classic table tennis-theme Pong game — and yes, he named it “Pong.” Meanwhile, Max thought outside the box for his “cookie counter” game, a simple concept where a player finds cookies (yes, the chocolate chip kind) before upgrading to even better cookies.
The Professor’s Perspective
This is the second year Nathan Birch has taught the IT boot camp at Melaleuca, which has hosted the program for several years. In particular, he appreciates seeing “the moment when the light comes on and they realize that they can actually build something.”
“Coding might initially be foreign to them,” Birch said, “but when they have the tools, they quickly see that a world of opportunity is within their reach.”
Unlike previous years, this year’s IT training camp saw the incorporation of generative AI, which is changing the landscape of many industries, including IT and coding. Birch acknowledged that AI could be problematic if used in the wrong way.
“Some people can get stuck with AI if they don’t know how to actually fix code,” he said. But when used as a tutoring device, AI can be useful. “Generative AI has enabled the students to do so much more,” Birch acknowledged.
One lesson Birch learned in teaching the IT boot camp is that high school students are very capable coders. “I’m used to teaching university students,” he said, “but I’ve learned that this age group is just as capable as my undergrads, and they have all the same resources available to them.”
The First Step for Future Leaders
Several years ago, Melaleuca created this hands-on technology camp to give students the opportunity to engage with the field of information technology. For many students, this week-long course is their first step to becoming innovative leaders.
Melaleuca offered morning and afternoon classes each day to keep the class sizes small and to provide individual training. In addition to Professor Birch, two of his computer science TAs attended the camp to ensure students received personalized instruction.
“We want more of Idaho’s students to be thoroughly prepared for technology opportunities, and we believe that strengthening their foundation in computer science will serve them in securing rewarding careers in science and technology,” said Melaleuca’s Chief Information Officer Todd Sorenson.
After the students finished this immersive IT camp, they were given certificates of completion and were also encouraged to include this experience in their future résumés and university applications.