BrainStorm Is Teaching Rural Utah How To Code: How the company is inspiring the next generation of technology entrepreneurs in Price, Utah.

• Author: Pope, Kristen
• Position: Concert review

When BrainStorm, Inc. took the stage at Mont Harmon Middle School, it quickly became obvious that this wasn't a typical school assembly. The presenters from the American Fork-based educational technology company unfurled a green screen, Star Wars costumes, and other gear as the students rotated among stations in the auditorium. At the video production station, students took turns working as director and even operating a boom mic before switching to stations focusing on HTML coding, graphic design, and virtual reality. For these seventh and eighth grade students in Price, this technology fair was a unique opportunity.

These are careers that they're not really exposed to in rural Utah," says Mont Harmon Middle School teacher Renee Banasky. "We're not like Silicon Slopes. We don't have technology companies around us, but the way the world is becoming, kids can live in rural Utah and work for a tech company. So it's exciting to see new opportunities that they weren't aware of."

TEACHING RURAL UTAH HOW TO CODE

Mont Harmon Middle School has around 620 students and faces high rates of intergenerational poverty, Ms. Banasky says. Traditionally, Price had a coal-based economy, and many students would graduate high school and begin working in the coal industry or at a gas well. However, with the decline of those industries, students are seeking opportunities in other fields. The technology fair is just one way BrainStorm is helping these students learn about a variety of technology-based careers in hopes of sparking interest in these fields.

The idea of partnering with the school first came about in 2017 when Utah Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox met with BrainStorm representatives. The company wanted his advice on how they could help students learn more about technology. Mr. Cox suggested they contact a rural Utah school and ask the very same question. The company soon reached out to Mont Harmon Middle School, meeting with teachers and administrators and forging a partnership.

At their first meeting, BrainStorm representatives asked the school how they could be of service. "We didn't want to go in and say, 'Here's what we're going to do,'" says Ciera Walker, Corporate Giving Committee Lead at BrainStorm. "The first meeting was 'What can we do? What do you think will be beneficial? How can we help?'"

The result was a technology fair for eighth graders, followed by one for seventh graders a few months later. These fairs covered topics like virtual reality, video...