About 50 students, from cursory programmers to future “Mark Zuckerbergs” flocked to the Austin Public Library last week to learn about coding. 

Seikou Technologies hosted the event at the Carver Branch of the Austin Public Library. The Seikou staff taught students the programming languages SQL, HTML/CSS, JavaScript and PHP. 

Many organizations, such as Codecademy and Coursera, also offer free coding lessons, but they are mostly online. This free, one-day intensive learning event was more convenient than online learning, according to sophomore public relations sophomore Ana Quireza. 

While the event offered the participants a glimpse into code, some attendees already have programming ventures they planned to pursue on their own.

“Ultimately, I want to learn UX/UI, which is for app development,” biology senior Patricia Wong said. “Technology is becoming such a huge aspect of our lives, and I want to learn how these things work so I can go forwards with my own ideas.”

Knowledge of programming opens doors for future careers, according to UT international business alumnus Nicholas Virden.

“It’s for personal development and to expand my opportunities career-wise,” Virden said. “I eventually want to switch careers to become a web developer.”

The coding event helped spur attendees to pursue their own curiosities or toward their own goals. 

“I love the little victories you get from developing something cool and useful,” Virden said.