SNOHOMISH — He taught himself to code. Now, he’s is sharing that skill with other kids.
Corey Person, 17, is a senior at Glacier Peak High School in Snohomish. On his days off, he volunteers to teach kids about coding and computers at the Seattle Rotary Boys &Girls Club.
Person has been going to the club since he was 8. His mother, Lorina Person, drops him off while she works as an accountant in downtown Seattle.
“I volunteer pretty much every day I can,” Corey Person said. “The kids are some of the greatest kids in the world.”
Dan Sytman, a spokesman for Microsoft, said the company was looking for kids who were using technology to help others to use as examples at We Day, an event that recognizes volunteerism. Person’s service landed him on a list with four other young people who were selected from about 1,600 to be celebrated at the event last month.
“The people we selected went above and beyond. We’re extremely impressed with Corey,” Sytman said. “He’s showing other kids that they can do it by being a powerful role model.”
To honor Person’s efforts, a surprise was organized for him ahead of the April event. Seattle Sounder Dylan Remick and television star Luke Bilyk, from TeenNik’s “Degrassi,” came to the Boys &Girls Club to celebrate his accomplishments.
“It caught me a bit off-guard but it was a lot of fun,” Person said.
Person started playing Minecraft, a creative building game, at the club when he was 13. He then taught himself to code using online searches and trying different techniques. He came up with a program that allowed all the kids at the club to play the game at the same time a few weeks after he started playing.
“It’s kind of like a party in a virtual world,” Person said.
He has since created other games, including one about a zombie apocalypse.
He shares his skills with other kids. Several have become interested in computer science.
“It feels cool to know that I’ve inspired some of them to do great things with technology,” Corey said.
Next year, Person hopes to study aerospace engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York. He hopes to join the U.S. Air Force after college.
Amy Nile: 425-339-3192; anile@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @AmyNileReports
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