The tech sector in the United States is largely White. That means that a lot of talented STEM students are missing out on careers in the tech sector, and that the tech sector is missing out on their contributions. That’s why in 2019, Ernest Holmes, Jaycee Holmes, and Tavis Thompson founded CodeHouse. This nonprofit organization helps connect students of color with opportunities in the tech world. From mentoring students directly, to helping them apply for scholarships, to hosting events with major tech companies, CodeHouse has already helped thousands of students develop their latent skills. Companies such as Adobe, Dropbox, Google, Microsoft, Paypal, and Pixar have already partnered with the organization.
In creating CodeHouse, Holmes, Holmes, and Thompson drew upon their own experiences in the tech world. Ernest is a technical program manager at Google; Jaycee was a program manager at Microsoft; and Tavis is a product manager at Zillow. So far, 2023 has been a busy year for their organization. In March, CodeHouse hosted Tech Exposure Day in Atlanta, where high school students could meet leaders in the tech field and participate in hands-on demos. The nonprofit has also provided tens of thousands of dollars for promising scholars at historically Black universities.
