My generation (Gen Z) can be the change
we desperately need during this turmoil!
We have no other choice!"

Chicago - June 17, 2020 – 15 year old Ian Brock, self-proclaimed “New Nerd,” uses a once-in-a-generation global pandemic and racial unrest across the U.S. as an opportunity to bridge the gap in computer science education for communities underrepresented in the tech industry.  

The pandemic first gave rise to a different kind of distance learning through Brock’s unique NEW NERD CS + Personal Development Mini Boot Camp and his NEW NERD Speaker Series. Danger in cities across America, brought on by rioting and racial unrest further fuels the idea that kids should be home, safely distancing themselves and possibly learning an important 21st Century skill. What Brock has created is a direct digital pipeline for kids to access computer programming (coding) at a comfortable pace, in a cool environment with a coach that they can vibe with.  Brock’s work in the technology space finds its origins in Dream Hustle Code, the nonprofit organization he co-founded to bring access to computer science to kids from underrepresented communities. 

The CS + Personal Development Mini Boot Camp is a hybrid virtual class for 5th - 9th graders that combines computer programming (starting with an intro to JavaScript through Code with Google’s Grasshopper Application) and personal development strategies.  He blends popular music and even takes music requests to promote maximum engagement and adds in a little fun too!  He felt that personal development strategies would be a critical tool to help kids when they hit the roadblocks they would eventually run into along the way. He hopes students will apply these strategies in their daily lives, just as he has done for the past eleven years.

Student participation has already reached 19 U.S. states and New Nerd’s online classes are in their 14th week. Brock sees himself as a coach and not the traditional teacher. “I want to be that coach in coding that I didn’t have when I first started,” says Brock.  “It gets lonely when you start on your own, especially since it’s not taught in most schools – you don’t have friends or peers to talk to about coding or what you dream of creating.”

Wanting to add more to everyone's experience, Brock has included a Friday Speaker Series featuring leaders from different industries who share their stories of success and failure. Brock decided to make it available to all students across the country when parents without children in the Mini Boot Camp started inquiring.  Recent guest speakers include Jeff Hoffman (Co-Founder Priceline.com), Chris Bosh (2x NBA Champion, 11x NBA All Star. Olympic Gold Medalist), Daraiha Greene (Google’s Global Head of Strategic Partnerships, Inclusion), and R. Donahue Peebles (America’s most successful African American Real Estate Developer) among others. Brock is lining up an impressive list of upcoming speakers, but he’s keeping the names top secret.

At 15, Brock has built an impressive resume of his own. Twice invited to Google, he has spoken at their HQ in Mountain View and Los Angeles where he was the only teen speaker.  Before 15,000 screaming students at a WeDay Chicago event, he took to the stage, unleashing his inner Tech Rock Star while advocating for increased computer science engagement. His story has been featured in Forbes, Black Enterprise, Education Week, Travel Noire, and onstage live at the BET Awards.  Brock’s vision and confidence enabled him to gain the support of millionaire entrepreneurs and multi-billion dollar corporations to carry out his ambitious idea to take a group of kids from Chicago and Racine WI, to Silicon Valley "to gain a bigger vision for their future."

If that’s not enough, this precocious teen has spent the last 3+ years researching and interviewing uber successful people for a book that he’s writing on success for kids.  This journey has led to some of the most sought-after encounters and interviews with billionaires, titans of industries and political figures including: Oprah Winfrey, Robert F. Smith, Venture Capitalist Ben Horowitz, Governor J.B. Pritzker, Pinnacle Group’s CEO Nina Vaca, Hollywood Producer Will Packer, 2 time NBA Champ Chris Bosh, Chick-fil-A’s CEO Dan Cathy, Priceline.com Co-Founder Jeff Hoffman, Steve Harvey, BET Network’s Louis Carr, Congressman Danny K. Davis and Reverend Jesse Jackson Sr.

WHY NEW NERD?
Brock considers himself a “new nerd.”  He says that old ideas surrounding who nerds are and what they look like is washed and outdated.  The nerds today, "new nerds," are not just smart, but they also have swagger and a highly evolved sense of style.  Some are athletic and listen to rap music, some rock Air Jordans, or Kanye West’s Yeezys as a part of their individual flavor.  Some are environmental changemakers and social justice activists.  Some aspire to be billionaires who own professional sports teams...they've moved past childhood dreams of playing for them.

Brock believes that the great digital divide in America can be closed.  He imagines a day when kids across America, and even across the globe, not only have access to computer science and programming but actively engage with it each day.  The belief is that this will lead to solutions to some of the biggest problems that humanity faces and will also “lead to the creation of a boatload of amazing new inventions that shape the way we live our lives.”

He says that God blessed him with gifts and opportunities that made it possible for him to be in the technology game.  Ian Brock believes that now it's his job to make sure he opens the door for more to follow.

New Classes begin each Monday.  Register your child today at www.newnerd.tech