Introduction
Many parents view computer science as a purely logical and highly technical discipline often overlooking creativity as an essential component. Kendree’s journey through computer science was one marked by technical ability and the courage and creativity to pursue various applications and opportunities. Starting out with lego Mindstorms before joining KTBYTE in 5th grade she was able to turn her coding skills into tools for creating a path she’s excited to take.
The Spark: From Robotics to Creative Coding
A young Kendree (about 10 yrs old) found her initial interest in Lego Mindstorms, it was the graphics and the problem solving that peaked her interest. Her dad, having some experience with coding on the Atari game platform in the 80’s, knew that with some encouragement and a little guidance maybe something good would come from Kendree’s early interest. Kendree was a quick learner and was able to advance through the curriculum quickly. Her first detour was taking a Generative Art class so that she had time for her math skills to catch up to her coding ability.
Her first introduction to Generative Art was actually seeing the pieces of art, made by students, on the walls of the KTBYTE office:
All around KTBYTE you'll find art projects that are created using Java code, on the wall outside KTBYTE the projects are displayed with their source code! If you want to check out one of Kendree's projects click here: Text Art Project. In her project the text changes color, size and font as you move it around the screen! I did a demo below using the text "KTBYTE Rocks", because KTBYTE does in fact rock.
The Creative Shift: Discovering Generative Art
Taking Generative art was a way to try something new with coding without advancing too quickly. It was an opportunity for her creative side to come out even more and it provided Kendree with more tools to express herself.
Generative Art
Our Generative Art [GEN ART] Course shows students that coding isn’t just about logic and numbers—it can also be a powerful tool for creativity. In this course, students explore how randomness and patterns can work together to create stunning, computer-generated art.
They’ll use techniques like algorithms (step-by-step instructions for computers), Perlin Noise (a method for generating natural-looking textures), recursive functions (repeating patterns in code), and autonomous agents (independent code elements that mimic real-world behaviors).
Unlike its companion course, [GEN DESIGN], which focuses on structured design, this class emphasizes autonomy and emergent behaviors—proving that computer science can be as unpredictable and artistic as it is logical.
In 2022 after working on USACO and achieving USACO Silver, Kendree took Web Development and began investing her time into large scale projects. She hosts her own personal website, her robotics team website and has even started helping with updates within the KTBYTE website! Her passion for computing is evident in the time and energy she spends on the varied project base she has built up. A project she’s especially proud of was a summer Website Development Internship creating a RAG AI application.
What is a RAG AI Application:
It's a Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) AI application is an AI system that uses external knowledge to improve the performance of a large language model (LLM). RAG applications can be used for a variety of tasks, including answering questions, providing customer support, and creating personalized recommendations.
These are created to make AI Systems more reliable through the use of external data sources in real time.
tl;dr - It allows AI to learn so it can perform better for the user/ use case.
The path to and through these various projects has proven to be less of a direct route from a to b, but there were some cows in the road, a github on the corner, and a few bugs in the code. This experimentation culminates to confidence to build projects independently, courage to try new things, and a passion for learning.
Full Circle: Kendree’s Growth from Student to Developer
It’s important to note that from Kendree starting with KTBYTE to now all of the various roles she’s played, on the KTBYTE team. Obviously she came to KTBYTE as a student. Moving through the material she became a KTBYTE TA. After serving as a TA for a few years she became a Teacher! Kendree now works with our developers and our website designer Cole M, with Motsinger Designed to help with the front end development of our website!
Before:
After:
While working with KTBYTE Kendree was also able to work on an ICSS (Independent Computer Science Study) on API vulnerabilities within Android apps. With a Team of KTBYTE students led by the owner of the company and senior instructor Ben students worked to create a set of tests for independent app builders to utilize in testing the endpoints of their API’s to ensure their security.
Along with the work she’s done within KTBYTE she’s also passionate about continuing her robotics competitions, she’s an avid crafter, and she seems to be an eternal student finding more applications of computer science to explore.
Why Creativity Matters in Computer Science – Author’s opinion
Many parents and even student see computer science as a purely analytical field, but I’ve seen first hand how creativity can make students better problem solvers, leaders, and independent thinkers. Here are a few real benefit’s I’ve seen with students I’ve personally worked with:
- Increased potential for trying something new.
- Ability to problem solve more independently.
- Students are more willing to take on leadership roles.
- More attention spent on larger scale personal projects.
- Able to communicate mistakes/ willing to ask for help.
I also want to clarify that creativity is not only linked with classes with the word ART in the title. I’ve seen creativity in AI and Machine Learning projects, in CORE class projects from games to slideshows. I can’t say that creativity and problem solving are synonyms but I do know they’re intricately linked.
Creativity is defined as the tendency to generate or recognize ideas, alternatives, or possibilities that may be useful in solving problems, communicating with others, and entertaining ourselves and others.
From Human Motivation, 3rd ed., by Robert E. Franken
Conclusion
In a letter to her child Abigail Adams wrote “Learning is not attained by chance, it must be sought for with ardour and diligence.” Being that Abigail Adams was a fervent supporter of women’s education, and emphasized the importance of active learning and personal effort it’s a great way to conclude the story of a student who has done just that. Kendree is in pursuit of knowledge, and soaking up every bit she can get her hands on. She is an incredibly hard worker, leader, coworker, and friend to her peers.