This article is part of a series of profiles of CalChamber member companies that are contributing to the state’s economic strength and ability to stay competitive in a global economy. Visit California Works to learn more about this series and read past and future profiles.
A celebration in Inglewood last month marked the expansion of a Google program started a decade ago to help high school students learn the skills they need and find inspiration to pursue careers in technology.
Code Next Inglewood is the fourth location nationwide and the second in California for the free program. The Code Next labs bring to high school students classes in topics such as web development, artificial intelligence and entrepreneurship.
The other Code Next labs are located in Oakland; Chelsea, New York; and Detroit, Michigan.
The Code Next labs put participants through a rigorous computer science curriculum and provide personalized coaching, as well as the opportunity to have a mentor-mentee relationship with Google team members, such as programmers or computer engineers. Students also gain access to industry experts and cutting-edge tools, including virtual and augmented reality.
The comprehensive curriculum covers topics ranging from JavaScript programming to user experience (UX) design. The Inglewood lab also will have a focus on gaming and production.
The Code Next website reports that of the program’s most recent graduates:
• 91.5% have been accepted to and are attending college/higher education programs.
• 88.4% are majoring in a STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) field in college.
• 58.1% are specifically naming “computer science” or “information systems” as their major.
First Lab in Southern California
More than 50 students, community leaders, and special guests attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house at Code Next Inglewood, located at the Shops at Hollywood Park
“Media, entertainment and technology infuse all that we do at SoFi Stadium and Hollywood Park, across our award-winning venues, global events, and groundbreaking experiences like COSM, Cinepolis and CineVita,” said Travis Sampson, senior vice president and chief technology officer of SoFi Stadium and Hollywood Park. “Code Next Lab embodies both the innovation and commitment to community which serve as the foundation of what we continue to build here at our game-changing live, work, play destination.”
“Code Next Inglewood is more than a lab—it’s a launching pad,” said Andrew Whitworth, who helped the Los Angeles Rams win Super Bowl LVI. “It’s about breaking barriers, building confidence, and showing our youth they belong in these rooms. I’m proud to be a part of this incredible moment and can’t wait to see the next generation of innovators rise up right here in Inglewood.”
Code Next Alumnus
Among the speakers at the Code Next Inglewood celebration was Gideon Buddenhagen, who described himself as a product of the Oakland Unified School District. Now a senior at Brown University, Buddenhagen said Code Next was a consistent presence in the community.
The computer engineers and mentors who taught him were as important as the curriculum, Buddenhagen said. Their inspiration led him to create a Leadership in Motion program for middle school students. The program, taught by high school mentors, provided free exposure to technology and computer science concepts for more than 75 middle school students in Oakland.
When the Los Angeles Rams hired him as a community impact intern, Buddenhagen said, he leveraged his Code Next technical and entrepreneurial studies to create a customized computer science class “at the intersection of football and STEM education” for more than 100 middle school students in Inglewood, Watts and South Central Los Angeles.
“It is ever more important to recognize this impact as a collective achievement,” Buddenhagen said. “Code Next cultivated my technical learning and fostered my community mindedness with grace. They opened doors to opportunities I never even knew existed, granting me access to lifechanging opportunities.”
About Hollywood Park
Spanning nearly 300 acres, Hollywood Park is the largest urban mixed-use development under construction in the Western United States. It is being built by Los Angeles Rams Owner/Chairman E. Stanley Kroenke. Anchored by an up to 890,000-square-foot retail area and surrounded by office space, Hollywood Park offers residences, public parks, a lake, and entertainment venues. The mixed-use development is linked by walkable paseos and plazas and centered around the 3.1 million square-foot SoFi Stadium and the intimate YouTube Theater. The development is a short drive from LAX and the City of Inglewood’s future Crenshaw/LAX Line.
