FAMU hosted the E.S.T.E.A.M.ED Summit and Coding Bootcamp for a third year, with $50,000 in scholarships awarded.WATCH FULL REPORT BELOW: FAMU hosts E.S.T.E.A.M.ED Summit and Coding Bootcamp for third year in a rowThe Arise and Shine Foundation's E.S.T.E.A.M.ED Summit and Coding Bootcamp returned to Florida AM University for a third year, bringing students together for a week focused on coding, innovation, wellness and professional development.Created by actress and producer Malinda Williams, the program is designed to help students see themselves in careers where women and minorities have historically been underrepresented."Empowerment, we exist to empower and elevate students. We give them professional development, mental and physical and emotional development, and part of what we wanna do is build that foundation of confidence because if you are confident, if you have that foundation of self-confidence, there's literally nothing that you can't do," Williams said.This year's summit also marked the first time young men joined the program.Student Cyneir Washington said the welcoming environment made an impression."Well, I love the people that I've met, and you know we gotta represent, you know, being the only five dudes in the group, so that's really great, and the fact that they took us in and welcomed us with open arms is really special," Washington said.Student Chloe Waites said the week left her feeling inspired."Throughout the week, I've gotten a lot of motivation from a lot of the speakers, a lot of fun events, we've even danced so I've just had a great time. It's very inspirational knowing that they kept repeating to us they were saying We're here for you guys. We're here if you guys need help and everything like that, so really inspirational," Waites said.As technology continues to shape nearly every industry, programs like this are helping students build skills early. According to Code.org, the percentage of U.S. high schools teaching computer science has grown from 35% to 51% over the last 3 years.Student Logan Rose said the experience offered more than technical knowledge."It means a lot to me because this is very special like for my major so I'm a pre science major so I gotta learn a lot about coding and just writing and knowing a lot about programming stuff like that and then like making like cool friends like them, but they're really cool and they understand a lot about Coding and like they're really smart so I feel like that's just pretty cool to get to have that connection and get some of that knowledge," Rose said.Student Noah Robertes said the week went quickly but left a lasting impression."It actually went by pretty fast, I'm not gonna lie, but I really enjoyed my time being here, being welcomed with open arms by caring people who want to see us grow, and I've definitely enjoyed my time here," Robertes said.Williams reflected on what makes the summit unique."Just being in the presence of a community that genuinely wants everybody involved to win so I think that's part of what's really special about this," Williams said.Students also competed in an app-building challenge for cash prizes. This year, the foundation invested $50,000 in scholarships to support participants and recognize outstanding achievements.This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.Want to see more local news? Visit the WTXL ABC 27 Website. Stay in touch with us anywhere, anytime.Like us on FacebookFollow us on Instagram and X. ...read more read less