Our trip to Cambridge Massachusetts on Decemeber 5, 2015 with the Newark Kid Code students, NJIT instructors and mentors, loyal program supporters/volunteers and our two parent leaders from Thirteenth Avenue School and North Star Academy Charter schools will be an experience I will never forget. The kids arrived at the North Star Academy at 6am bleary-eyed and a little tired, but very excited about the trip. We arrived at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology at about 10:30am.

There literally was not a single cloud in the sky and the temperature was in the 50s. We divided the students into groups led by their Technology Mentors, gave them a map, and told them they had an hour to explore the campus taking interesting photos with the generous cameras many of you donated. Watching them crisscross the campus in search of the winning photo (as an incentive we offered them a prize for taking the best photo) was fun to watch.

From MIT we walked down Mass Ave. to Harvard Square where we met up with a member of the Harvard Law School Black Students Association. He escorted us back to the law school where pizza and the other students were waiting in a lecture hall. As the kids ate their pizza the law students talked about why they decided to go to law school, and the type of law they wanted to practice. The law students were funny, smart, riveting, and they were able to connect to the students on their level. We taped the incredible session and it will be available on theNewarkKidsCode.org website in the coming days.

After the session Chike Achebe, one of the law students gave the kids a tour around campus. One of the must stops along the tour was the Reginald F. Lewis International Law Center. Chike also showed the kids the law library (which is the biggest or second biggest in the worl), and the building where President Obama became the first Black president of the law review. After the tour we all walked to the world famous J.P. Licks ice cream shop. The Ice cream was a payoff for the kids walking the great distance (someone said it was over 5 miles) from MIT to Harvard Law School. Once they got their ice cream I was quickly forgiven. After we got the ice cream we ate it as we waked back to the law school and boarded the bus for home. On the bus the kids excitedly talked about their day. These are just a few pictures; the professional will be posted on theNewarKidsCode.org website. I am glad we were able to give this experience to the kids after all their hard work learning to code. Their Culmination Ceremony is December 12th from 10am – 12:30pm at NJIT.