On December 12, Phoenix College's campus buzzed with unusual energy with nearly 150 high school students from across the Valley participating in Day of Compute, an event offering workshops in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, web development, and Python programming - plus direct access to industry leaders from Boeing, Meta, PayPal, Microchip, and Infosol. The event, co-hosted by Coding in Color and Phoenix College's STEAM program, creates vital connections between high school students and the technology careers that could transform their futures.
Building Bridges Through Technology
According to Code.org's 2025 State of AI + CS report, only 43% of Arizona high schools offer foundational computer science courses, and only 3.8% of high school students took computer science in the 2023-2024 school year.
Diana Lee Guzman, founder of Coding in Color and a Carl Hayden High School alumna, is determined to change those metrics. "Our big North Star is that every student has access to a computer science education," Guzman said. As major semiconductor manufacturers and tech companies continue investing billions in Arizona, the state faces a growing need for skilled workers. "We should be leaning into the computer sciences," she said. "There are so many roles out there, including cybersecurity and Quality Assurance (QA) for semiconductors, we have to make sure our kids are prepared for those jobs."
When Kennett Ho was a Maryvale High School freshman, he came to a Coding in Color hackathon at Phoenix College and asked to volunteer. He volunteered with Coding in Color until his junior year of high school, when Guzman hired him as a part-time staff member. He's now in his sophomore year of college, studying computer science, with a focus on software engineering. Shelby Alonso, who also works part-time for Coding in Color, studies computer science with a focus on cybersecurity. "I like being able to teach what I learned in school and promote it to other students and inspire them to pursue Computer Science," she said.
More Than Just Workshops
While Day of Compute offered hands-on technical training, the real magic happened in the connections between students and the industry professionals providing workshops.
For Rose Franco, a student from Carl Hayden High School, these face-to-face encounters open doors. "I hope to do a lot of networking at this event, because I really want to know more about networking and cybersecurity," she said. "I'm hoping to talk to people who will open more doors for me for internships and other opportunities." Franco’s enthusiasm reflects a broader hunger for access.
Michael Marmolejo, a 19-year veteran teacher at Carl Hayden's Center for Computer Studies, emphasized the transformative power of seeing role models who share your background. "These professionals were students just like them, sitting in the same seats not that long ago, looking forward and thinking, 'Man, what am I going to do with what I've learned?'" he said. "My students can imagine the future. They can see themselves in those positions."
Dylan Dilla, a lead software engineer at Choice Hotels and a Carl Hayden graduate, has volunteered with Coding in Color since its inception. He facilitated a workshop on building a custom ChatGPT "because it's becoming so ubiquitous." He praises AI's ability to democratize information: "It's really good at explaining legalese and helping people access information." Still, he sees the limits of AI and cautions people from using AI for simple tasks, which can lead to cognitive downloading. "When AI is taking care of all of these little things that you used to keep in the back of your head, you're not using your brain the way that you used to," he said. "We still need humans to do stuff," which has him leading the conversations about the use of AI at his workplace.
The Phoenix College Advantage
Gabe Noga, Phoenix College's STEAM Program Manager, sees events like Day of Compute as essential to Phoenix College's mission. He noted the event strengthens PC's recruitment pipeline, expands community and industry partnerships, and positions PC as a hub for technology learning and workforce development. "I want students to feel like they have a home here," Noga said. "I want them to feel like they can come here and dream."
That sense of belonging at Phoenix College has proved crucial for Prima Fombo and Issac Flores, Computer Science Club members who helped lead a workshop during the event. After starting university as a computer science major, Prima transferred to PC in search of a more supportive environment. "I love it. I love PC so much," she said. "One of the main reasons I came here is to be able to see people and talk to people, because it can be isolating at home on your computer all day. I want to be around people and reconnect with humanity."
The club welcomes students from all fields of study and they keep in touch with those who can’t make it to campus on Discord. Prima will transfer to ASU this spring to complete her bachelor's in graphic information technology. Issac worked a few years after high school, trying to figure out what he wanted to do. After the pandemic flipped so many industries upside down, he felt Information Technology (IT) was an industry with a strong future. He's pursuing a bachelor's degree in IT at PC.
Looking Forward
As the 150 students dispersed at day's end, they carried more than just new technical skills. They gathered business cards, email addresses, and a clearer vision of their futures. For Samantha Vasquez, who started coding between the ages of seven and nine on her family's iPad, the path forward involves choosing between backend development and frontend design. For Rose Franco, it's about bringing knowledge back to classmates who couldn't attend. "I want to help teach them what I learned here," she said. Phoenix College's investment in Computer Science education and Day of Compute reinforces the institution's commitment to expanding STEM access for students from underserved backgrounds. By opening its doors, leveraging industry partnerships with organizations like Coding in Color, PC is reshaping the narrative about who belongs in technology careers—one student at a time.
Want to plug into Computer Science education at Phoenix College? Consider a bachelor's degree in Information Technology.