Kelley O’Hara and Capital One Coders

Most people know soccer star Kelley O’Hara as a tenacious member of the 2019 U.S. Women’s World Cup championship team. Before she competed in two World Cups and two Olympics, the Stanford University graduate also excelled in another field: academics. A lifelong love of math and science led Kelley to college classes in product design, coding and classic science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) topics. She ultimately majored in Science, Technology and Society, with a focus in environmental engineering. Kelley shared a similar message with Washington, D.C.-area students in December, when she was the keynote speaker at a Capital One Coders celebration. The volunteer-run program brings Capital One employees into local classrooms, where they mentor and teach coding and application design skills to middle school students. 

Capital One Coders

The Capital One Coders mission is to inspire the future generation by educating, mentoring, and empowering students to recognize their potential as technologists.

The Coders program is building a better future through technology. In partnership with public schools and other youth-serving nonprofits, Capital One Coders helps students cultivate a greater interest in computer science during a critical period in their development. Capital One employees work directly with students, building a mentoring relationship and inspiring confidence in the Coders as they explore technology through design thinking and coding. Since the program’s creation in April 2014, Capital One Coders has partnered with over 120 schools and nonprofit organizations, inspiring 15,000 students to consider futures in computer science. Capital One has engaged 4,000 volunteers for over 90,000 hours in pro bono volunteerism through this program.