A partnership between Warren County Public Schools and the Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce aims to create a new generation of tech whizzes.

Administrators and Chamber representatives met Thursday at Greenwood High School to explore a computer science class that will soon benefit from a grant by the Tennessee Valley Authority.

WCPS Director of Grants Tracey Young said the TVA funding will help improve the quality of student resources and technology as well as train computer science instructors for all county high schools.

“We are allowing those students to take it to the next level,” Young said, “They have the skill sets, they’re brilliant kids, we just have to provide them the resources to be able to move the needle forward and develop those types of products.”

Students in the “Computer Science Discoveries” class at Greenwood are tasked with creating real products — anything from video games to wigs for cancer patients to cooling vests for welders to anesthetic pumps for medical use.

At the end of the year, students are asked to present their products at Western Kentucky University in front of a panel of entrepreneurs.

“If you win that show, like our students from Greenwood High School did in the spring, (you receive) a large package of support provided through the Innovation Center out of Western’s campus to allow the students to market that product and further develop it for consumer use,” Young said.

Greenwood sophomore Jacob Stewart was busy putting together his project as guests filed into the class. Stewart designed a website that collects local sports scores and social media posts in one location.

“Our website is about trying to connect sports and Warren County,” Stewart said. “It kind of brings people together (when) more people are interacting with sports more.”

Stewart said funding like that provided by the TVA will likely make their work much easier.

“It’ll help us get a lot of new features on our website, because right now we’re just at the base,” Stewart said. “Once we present at WKU next semester, we’re going to hopefully get (additional) money for funding and all.”

Senior Jett Hill is designing “Cowboy Run” — a platform video game that takes inspiration from the “Dinosaur Game” shown on Google Chrome when it encounters a connection error.

“When you’re bored in class, you’ve just got to have something to do,” Hill said. “We got inspiration from the (Dinosaur Game) and just started making a game out of it.”

Hill always knew he wanted to do software design and plans to study computer science at WKU after graduation. Though he has an interest in video game development, he said it’s mostly been a way to introduce him to general coding and software design.

He added that additional funding could allow them to access more advanced design software such as Unity, a game development platform, rather than relying on free or low-cost platforms.

“If we have the money and funds to do that, it’d really help with all of our projects,” Hill said. “Not even just with video games — it makes coding so much simpler and makes it so we can (better) learn what we’re doing instead of trying to wing it and test it.”

Young said while some may view video games as simply idle fun, the reality is they’re often an introduction to advanced coding and design skills that are highly demanded across various industries.

Young recalled a meeting with professionals from the work-in-progress Envision AESC battery plant in Warren County, aimed at better understanding what skills employers are looking for. Young said the technology involved in the plant is “like nothing you’ve ever seen.”

“Meredith Rozansky, who is vice president of the Chamber, said ‘I will never make fun of gaming again,’ because so much of that is what they incorporate in that advanced automotive technology,” Young said.

Young said learning different coding languages and programming software are skills that translate seamlessly across professions. Warren County’s only issue is a lack of programmers to meet the demand.

Harry Schmidt, manager of field operations for the TVA’s economic development team, said the grant program is specifically designed to meet workforce demands like this.

“About two years ago, TVA identified a need for creative, innovative solutions to different community workforce challenges,” Schmidt said. “So we set up this grant program and it’s really community-driven. Every community across the valley has different needs that are specific to the community.”

The organization does not release grant amounts due to their “competitive nature” but Warren County’s funding is a “significant amount.”

Schmidt added that their program has so far distributed over $2 million across 30 communities, focusing on teaching English to second-language learners, training childcare workers, reintegrating formerly incarcerated people — anything a community identifies as an area of need.

Schmidt said the early work done at Greenwood through the grant will serve as a model for schools across the district and potentially beyond.

He said it’s “mind-blowing” to see what Greenwood students are already creating, adding it’s just the beginning.

“Kudos to the Warren County Public Schools and the Chamber of Commerce for being innovative and seeking funding to (not only) create ways to support business and industry in the area, but to continue to create opportunities for our students for career opportunities to stay here in Bowling Green and continue to do amazing things,” Schmidt said.