As you have probably heard on the announcements, Computer Science Club is the place to be every B and D day. Miles Gee and Noah Braunfeld run this coding club with the assistance of Mr. Busza, Harriton’s main Computer Science teacher. I decided to learn more about this computer club through Mr. Busza and the two seniors, and dive into the club’s history

The Harriton Banner: What is the purpose of the Computer Science Club?

Miles Gee and Noah Braunfeld: We teach computer science topics the school tries to cover up. We get people thinking for themselves rather than following “labs.” 

THB: What made you want to take over this club?

NB and MG: By the end of our sophomore year we were the only non-seniors attending meetings. We had no choice but to step up our junior year.

Mr. Busza: My undergraduate degree from Drexel University is in Mathematics. For many of my electives I opted to take CS courses……my favorite CS class, Assembly Language, instilled in me a love of how these things (devices, computers, internet, and now cell phones) operate…..from both a software and hardware aspect. A few years ago, some CS students asked me to sponsor a CS club and I said yes.

THB: How do you all work together to co-run CSC?

NB and MG: We outline a plan for the club at the start of the year and then promptly veer off it by the third meeting. After that if either of us has an idea, we plan the next meeting around it. It is a very agile environment.

Mr. Busza: I allow the club president and vice-president to offer ideas to present to the club members. We have discussed various topics to include and some ideas to present, some work and some do not, but it is fun to research and investigate current topics. 

THB: What is your favorite part about the club? What is the most challenging part?

NB and MG: The best part of the Computer Science Club is the morning announcements. The most challenging part is keeping people engaged with more abstract concepts.

Mr. Busza: My favorite part is the excitement of the members when a topic is interesting to many and very relevant….(like the current topic under discussion, cryptocurrency!)

THB: How is CSC important to you/the Harriton community?

NB and MG: When we were just members of the club, the comp sci club helped engage us in ways that the school couldn’t. We hope that we’re able to get other people as excited and interested in computer science as we are.

THB: How do you plan to get more people involved in the club and spread the interest of coding to other people?

NB and MG: We occasionally add random people to the email list in hopes to grow our membership. Outside of that we just hold consistent meetings to keep people engaged. We would like to think that the morning announcements help too.

THB: How did you get involved with computer science?

NB and MG: Miles got into Scratch in 3rd grade and progressed to “real” coding in middle school when programming for TSA. Noah wanted to make Minecraft mods, an independent, user-made modification of this videogame.

THB: Is there anything else you want to share with the readership of the paper?

NB and MG: Join clubs unaffiliated with national organizations. They can do whatever they want. Additionally, for those underclassmen looking to bolster their resume, a little birdy told me that Jake Waniewski of Music Club needs a protege to take it over when he graduates.

Computer Science Club is the best place to learn the various coding concepts that students are missing from the school’s usual CS curriculum. Miles and Noah proudly run it, and they mentor several Harriton coders every other Learn 2 in room 307. Along with their comedy emails and announcements, the two seniors, with the help of Mr. Busza, enjoy brainstorming new lessons every week for their members to engage in.