Meet Marcos! Marcos is an enterprising CodeWizardsHQ middle school student who excels at a wide variety of activities from sports to visual arts. His enthusiasm for coding and dedication to creating projects outside of class have made us take notice and earned him a Student Spotlight.
Starting Early
Marcos realized the importance of coding at an early age. He loved video games and was determined to learn more about them.
“Ever since I was very small, like when I was five, I wanted to make a video game but I didn’t know how. Once I figured out coding is how you do it, I wanted to learn how to code.”
Marcos’s dad recognized his son’s coding ambitions. They tried a few local classes but wanted to find a more structured program for his son.
“Marcos wanted to learn how to code almost since he started talking. I chose CodeWizards because of the reviews. The reviews are very good. He’s now in his second semester and he loves it.”
He also appreciated the structure and progression levels of the program and that CodeWizardsHQ offers an evaluation placement test. He wanted the program to be a custom fit for Marcos’s learning level.
Game Creation
Marcos is now in Beyond Basics With Python, the second class in Middle School Wizard Level I. The rising sixth grader enjoys the Python programming that he’s been doing so far. He likes learning about the logic behind Python. His favorite project has been coding a Castle Quest game that caps off the Intro to Python class. The game is fully coded by students and reminds him of some of the games that he’s been coding on his own. Marcos is only in his second coding class, but he already has an impressive portfolio of creations.
“The first game I ever made with Python was called Food Survival. It’s kind of a generic game. You’re a bowl and you have to move away from the junk food raining from the sky.”
Marco wants to continue growing his coding skills and pursue a career in video game development. Right now though, he is enjoying his coding classes as well as his favorite subject in school, science.
Hobbies and Sports
Marcos’s accomplishments don’t stop at the classroom door. He’s very passionate about several other activities as well.
“There’s one thing that I really love to do besides coding and that’s animating or making comics. Some drawings I make are on paper and some are digital. Just yesterday I got a new animation program called Adobe Animate and made my first animation with that program.”
Marcos’s extensive collection of original animation creatives is showcased on his YouTube channel, “The Marker Channel.” With over 560 videos and 550 subscribers, his talent for animation is certainly well beyond his 11 years.
In addition to academics, Marcos makes time in his busy schedule to participate in martial arts. He competes in tournaments and is highly ranked in his school. Marcos has attained a purple belt, an advanced achievement level.
With a firm foundation in some important life skills and his eye on the future, there doesn’t seem to be a limit to what this young coder will accomplish. His instructor, Cameron Forsythe agrees.
What impresses me about Marcos is his refusal to confine himself to classroom learning. His passions for art and programming drive him to constantly seek innovative ways to merge the two. With his unwavering work ethic and boundless enthusiasm, I have no doubt that Marcos will excel in his programming career.
Cameron Forsythe, CodeWizardsHQ Instructor
