A.R. Johnson Magnet School chosen as site for Amazon Future Engineers Program

Posted: Dec 10, 2020 / 05:51 PM EST

Updated: Dec 10, 2020 / 05:51 PM EST

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WJBF) – A.R. Johnson Magnet School has been selected as a site for the Amazon Future Engineers Program.

Students who attend this school excel in areas of STEM.

“With the Amazon Future Engineers Program, they pretty much provide the funding, and the resources, and the curriculum for us to teach,” computer science teacher Christopher Shears said. “They also give us the code along videos. As they’re actually programming, they’re actually looking at the videos first to see how the program is supposed to run, and then they go and apply it themselves.”

On Thursday, AP eighth grade students attended a Virtual Classroom Chat with an Amazon professional.

*A.R. Johnson student speaking with Braeden Quirante, Amazon solutions architect, during Zoom meeting*

“I just want to make sure that everyone knows that there’s always a way to get into technology,” Amazon solutions architect Braeden Quirante said. “There’s always resources to help you get there, and it’s never too late.”

For these gifted eighth graders, it’s never too early either. The Virtual Classroom Chats give students the opportunity to ask questions about the day-to-day in a tech job, and what it took to get there.

“The virtual chats are awesome because they allow them [students] to get an experience from someone that’s actually working in the industry, right here in the classroom,” Shears said.

While the students learn to code and correct programs in multiple programming languages, the teachers hope they will also be inspired by hearing from someone currently in the tech field.

“It kind of opens up their eyes and they see ‘Hey, I just talked to someone who has done it, I can do this too,'” Shears said.