MEET THE TEAM
BEHIND THE RISING CODERS
The Rising Coders is a student-driven non-profit organization focused on creatively implementing coding in schools through various means, such as our coding competitions.
Desiree Karlstromer, CEO
I'm incredibly passionate about entrepreneurship and creating positive changes in one's community. Software development is a key component of this work but I think a lot of people feel scared because they are not technical experts. I am a part of Rising Coders to eliminate this fear by teaching young entrepreneurs about programming. The children participating in our competition are given the opportunity to develop something based on their own authentic ideas which would be a dream come true for my younger self. This is why I think you should sign up for Rising Coders. It's fun, exciting and educational!
Tom Hinderoth Zachrisson
My first interaction with coding was at a very young age when my dad brought me to coding classes at a local library, which originally sparked my interest. During my school years I was fortunate enough to keep learning more about the subject because of my school’s initiative to implement coding in school. Later my interest for coding gradually declined as I started my first year of high school, because they didn’t provide coding classes for the programme I was taking. But with Rising Coders that passion was reignited and I want to be a driving force for creating an interest in coding for today’s youth.
Holger Molin
I have long seen programming as one of the best subjects. The problem-solving is satisfying and usually results in a useful product as a nice bonus. However, I find that many view programming as something intimidating and advanced, which prevents them from giving it a try. Getting started can be difficult as there are certain concepts to learn before diving into the fun part. This is exactly what I find so great about Rising Coders, as our goal is to assist students through the challenging phase with a competition that hopefully makes it a bit more enjoyable. In this way, I hope that more people will develop a genuine interest in programming.
Hilal Al-Dujaili
I’ve always been passionate about technology and its potential to make the world a better place. As a young person myself, I struggled to find the resources and guidance I needed to learn how to code. This experience inspired me to make coding education more engaging, interactive, and fun for the next generation of tech innovators.
Leonard Holter
Personally, I advocate for the implementation of coding in our school system. Our society is rapidly progressing towards a fully digitalized world. In other words, the future will be constructed through coding. I firmly believe that everyone should have the opportunity to contribute to this future, allowing us to collectively aggregate our ideas using a shared toolset like coding and build whatever we can envision. And what better way is it to learn this toolset than through an accessible, interactive coding competition utilizing a user-friendly language like Scratch?
Emma Laurin
My first experience with coding was in middle school when my design teacher gave my class the task of creating a game using Scratch software. I remember thinking it looked difficult, but, to my surprise — having had no previous experience — it was relatively easy to advance in. This experience sparked my initial interest in coding. It wasn't until four years later that I encountered Scratch and the world of coding again, this time in the Rising Coders environment. Here, I've witnessed many kids having the same experience I had at a similar age. I am part of Rising Coders to help spark this interest in as many of today's youth as possible and hopefully remove that initial hurdle.
Nadia Kuritzén
I am super fascinated about science in general and especially coding due to all of its implementations in today’s society. The mission of introducing students from a young age to this science is absolutely pivotal since programming and machine learning has become such a key component of today's world. Therefore, I am engaged in Rising Coders, to provide students what might be their first interaction with coding as well as an invaluable opportunity that I wish I had gotten.
Frank Sienkiewicz
As a child and through my early teenage years, I loved to play with legos. I took apart all my sets and tried to construct something on my own. When I was first introduced to scratch in school, I found it completely awesome. It was just like legos, but with boundless possibilities. This sparked my interest in coding. Not only is it the future of our society, it also is the perfect creativity outlet. Rising Coder's vision is to let students turn their imagination into something tangible - a simple scratch game, all while learning a skill which undoubtedly is invaluable in our rapidly advancing world.
Sonia Ahlberg
During middle school I gained interest in coding, but it was difficult to find the time and knowledge to develop this skill on my own. As I grew older, I realized the importance of coding and how many opportunities one can acquire through it. Therefore, I wanted to be involved in Rising Coders to give young children an opportunity to gain interest for coding through a program that simplifies it and makes it possible for all students to continue developing this skill.
Are you the next Rising Coder?
Are you interested in being a part of something bigger than yourself? Do you want to learn new skills in leadership, management and teambuilding - then joining The Rising Coders initiative might be something for you!
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Soon we will accept applications if you are interested in joining, this is because we are expanding as an organisation and need more young ambitious students wanting to contribute to something positive.