Catapult Experience

You Are the Next Tech Pioneer

Catapult is a fully-immersive computer science program for rising high school juniors and seniors (in the Marion County, Uplands Region/Bloomington area and Evansville and surrounding areas) who aspire for a career in technology. Taking place during the summer and taught by industry professionals in conjunction with a licensed computer science teacher, participants develop technical skills, create authentic peer relationships, improve workplace readiness, create plans for postsecondary success, and build deep roots for a lifelong personal and professional connection to Indiana.

Applications will open in January 2023

Catapult is a fully-immersive computer science program for rising high school sophomores, juniors and seniors (in the Marion County, Uplands Region/Bloomington area and Evansville and surrounding areas) who aspire for a career in technology. Taking place during the summer and taught by industry professionals in conjunction with a licensed computer science teacher, participants develop technical skills, create authentic peer relationships, improve workplace readiness, create plans for postsecondary success, and build deep roots for a lifelong personal and professional connection to Indiana.

Student Outcomes

Our goal for each and every student that participates in Catapult is to grow their knowledge and passion for a career in computer science. Specifically, students will:

Deepen their professional connection to Indiana
Be inspired to consider career in technology
Increase their understanding of computer-related job opportunities and the skills, education and training required
Feel that there is a place for “someone like me” in technology

Impact

Nextech has partnered with best-in-class community organizations and industry volunteers to facilitate a series of learning experiences to ensure all Catapult participants develop a strong foundation of skills needed to succeed in college, career and life.

10000 hours

Technical Skills Instruction

3000 hours

Industry Connections

2000 hours

Community Engagement

1500 hours

College & Career Readiness

Catapult Testimonials

"The Catapult program helped me realize I could actually work with a group and bring something to the table too. It gave me more confidence about attaining my goals. After listening to different speakers, I know I can make it to my dreams too. I am now more confident and comfortable in this society which I integrated into a year ago." - Jeff, 2018-2019 Participant

"By far the area that improved most was communication. Prior to the program I tended to not particularly enjoy talking to new people but now I am so much more comfortable with it and actually enjoy talking to people so much more. Also working in a group was a big thing that I worked on, as I had never worked on a website in a group before, and the coordination between each other was huge." - Kaleb, 2019-2020 Participant

"The industry tours were definitely the most beneficial aspect of the entire summer program. They gave me the opportunity to not only see but also experience the tech scene of Indy. It also gave me the chance to see what my near future can look like in not only college but also the job force. There was no other program that I could have gotten an experience like this in except for Nextech."
- Shayna, 2019-2020 Participant

"This program helped me grow as a person as I've gotten to come out of my shell and enjoy the people around me. I had no idea just how amazing it would be getting to meet 25 other people my age and getting to connect with them all. Friendships and connections are something that don't come super easily to me, but I've made so many of them and realized that networking is something that I can do." - Ricky, 2019-2020 Participant

"Catapult is a program that taught me how to be confident about myself within technology. Everyday is a different day with Catapult. With all the things that happened in 2020, this program lightened everyone and myself up. As a person who is one of the few in my family in the tech field, I’m proud I got to do everything." - Myranda

Impact Stories

Patience

2016-2017 Catapult

Jeff

2018-2019 Catapult

Shayna

2019-2020 Catapult

Christianah

2021 Catapult

David

2017-2018 Catapult

Summer

Get to know our Catapults and hear about how their experiences have transformed them.