Local CodeCrew Students Win National Awards

1:05 p.m. Feb. 26, 2021

CodeCrew, a local nonprofit that works to empower children and adults to be tech innovators and leaders, announced that several of their students were accepted into the TED-Ed Student Talks Program and placed first in Tennessee’s Congressional App Challenge.

Johnathan Sherrill and Jayda Murray were accepted into the TED-Ed Student Talks Program as well as the Raising Good Gamer program. TED-Ed and Raising Good Gamers recently partnered to gain insights from young people on video game culture and how the medium can be used for change.

Johnathan and Jayda are two of only 30 high school students worldwide to be selected for the TED-Ed student talks program. The program will culminate with the opportunity for five of the 30 students to receive support from TED-Ed coaches for a speaking engagement at the 2021 Games for Change Festival, which will take place July 12th-14th.

Johnathan, Jayda, and her sister, Anaya, also placed first in Tennessee’s Congressional App Challenge. The Congressional App Challenge is for middle school and high school students, encouraging them to learn to code and inspiring them to pursue careers in computer science.

Johnathan, Jayda, and Anaya won with their app. Walk In My Shoes: Raising Awareness and Change, was created as a way to allow others to go through a day in the life of a middle-class Black man and show the impact of micro-aggressions and racism from a first-person view. Their app and the other winners’ apps will be displayed in the Capitol building and be featured on the House of Representatives’ website. The winning students are also invited to the House of Code Capitol Hill Reception in Washington, D.C.

The CodeCrew team received both local and regional praise for their accomplishments. Meka Egwuekwe, executive director for CodeCrew, said, “We are so proud of all Johnathan, Jayda, and Anaya have accomplished and learned while with CodeCrew.” U.S. Representative Steve Cohen also extended words of congratulations, writing “I admire your efforts to help others understand the experiences and struggles of their fellow Americans in a time when compassion and understanding is critically important … I look forward to seeing where the future takes you.”

Check out The Memphis Flyer article here