Ellensburg students visit BBCC Computer Science Department

Several students look at and touch a disassembled computer on a table.

Ellensburg High School students look at the inner workings of a computer during their visit to Big Bend Community College Thursday.

MOSES LAKE — About two dozen Ellensburg High School students visited Big Bend Community College Thursday to learn about the Computer Science Department and available programs.

Tom Willingham, Workforce Education Development Coordinator, and Michell Valdivia, Computer Science Faculty, explained the different computer science pathways available at Big Bend at the new Workforce Education Center building.

Big Bend offers two Associates Degrees, two certificates of achievement and five certificates of accomplishment in computer science fields.

After the introduction to the pathways, the faculty took the students a mock data center on campus which is part of Big Bend’s Microsoft Datacenter Academy.

“It was a pleasure to share some of the labs and program information with the students,” said Willingham. “They all seemed attentive and interested in the things we saw. It is particularly nice to see so many young women interested in what has historically been a male dominated field.”