Wilson has an extensive number of clubs, but for junior Zola Canady, there were not enough. She took it upon herself to expand the computer science program outside of class, creating the Computer Science, Entrepreneurship, and Homework club, which meets every Tuesday at 5:00 p.m.

Anthony Evans, Wilson’s Career and Technical Education (CTE) teacher, had been thinking about starting an entrepreneurship club, and thus was enthusiastic when Canady reached out to him with her idea. “My goal is to try to make sure that I help people as much as possible; so if they want to learn computer science, they need help with their homework, or if they want to start or run a business without going to the class, they can do that here,”  Evans said.

One of the club’s first members, junior Ben Wallach, explained that his reason for joining was “to get a basic understanding of coding and computer science.”

Computer science involves combining technology and math to problem solve. According to Evans, this concept directly ties into entrepreneurship. “If you can solve someone’s problem, you will always be valuable in the marketplace.”

Many students have taken entrepreneurship courses at Wilson. Wilson’s program lets students earn up to $10,000 to start a business, Evans explained. Wilson alumni Andre McCain used this program to his advantage. He started his first business in his freshman year, and by the time he was 17, was making almost $70,000 annually. He is currently opening a restaurant called HalfSmoke right here in DC, in the Shaw neighborhood.

“My hope for the club is to help people [get] from where they are… to where they want to be,”  Evans said. During the first meeting, the club’s members went around the room and shared what they would like to get out of the extracurricular. Canady hopes to learn how to program and apply that knowledge to the real world.

One of the club’s goals is to expand. Being a new club, they currently only have around five members, mostly juniors and one freshman. “People found out [about the club] through class and announcements, but we’re still trying to get more people,”  Canady said. If you’re looking to kickstart your future in the business world, the Comp Sci club is the place for you.