Matthew Larson is a junior at University of Texas as Austin, studying Computer Science. He is excellent at engaging our younger Python students, encouraging their creativity in the project-based learning and keeping it fun. Let’s get to know him!
When did you start to code?
I started to code around 5th grade. My dad was messing around with microcontrollers and invited me to join. Over the course of a few weeks, we had laser cut wooden pieces to a robot and assembled it, giving the microcontroller code to let us control it. I continued coding in high school, where I participated in competitive programming in Java. Now at UT, I’ve used mainly Java, Python, and C to further my studies.
Why is it important for kids to start coding when young?
Starting young is so important because it gives you such a nice head start. With coding being such a high demand skill in a competitive field, this head start will put you ahead of everyone else also looking to go into that labor market. Starting young will let you pursue more advanced coding challenges and build your resume while most people are only getting started with the basics.
What advice do you have for kids learning how to code?
Although it may sound simple, don’t give up! A lot of times I’ve seen people encounter a small bug or conceptual issue with their code and become so frustrated that they never come back to it, especially with personal projects. It can be annoying sometimes, but it feels so rewarding to finally fix that pesky issue and produce the result you’ve worked so hard for.
More Great Mentors Just Like Matthew
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