Urban Coders Guild. From Tokyo, With Love
A thought about coming home became nine years of learning, building and belonging in Tulsa.
On Sept. 13, Urban Coders Guild turns 9, and I find myself thinking about a life that looked very different from this one. I was in Tokyo, working a completely ridiculous salaryman schedule, sometimes approaching 100 hours a week. I had built a great career in technology and project management, Tokyo was amazing, and the money, quite frankly, was fantastic. But somewhere underneath all of that, I kept thinking that maybe it was time to go home.
Home, for me, meant Tulsa, specifically North Tulsa, and the possibility of working with young people who looked like me and came from neighborhoods like mine. I grew up around 52nd Street and Hartford, but attended Booker T. Washington High School, where I had access to just about every possible combination and permutation of academic excellence a weird, nerdy kid could ask for. My parents gave me opportunity, access, and support, encouraged my curiosity, and helped make room for the things I wanted to explore. Looking back, I could see how much that combination had mattered, and how differently educational opportunities could look for kids growing up in the same city.
Around 13, I started teaching myself how to code, before my schools offered much beyond basic computer classes and before most kids in my neighborhood had computers at home. The computer, and eventually the internet, gave me a way to explore a world much bigger than my own, to find people interested in the things I was interested in, and to discover places and ideas beyond what I could see around me. I wasn't thinking about workforce development. I was a weird, nerdy kid who thought computers were cool, and it turned out that particular interest had some mileage in it.
Those skills helped me land my first real technology job at the University of Maryland. I kept learning and building a client portfolio, first moved to Japan as an assistant language teacher, and, over more than a decade spent in and out of the country, built a career as an IT manager in Tokyo. As I thought about coming home, I kept thinking about the opportunities that had helped me get there. I had, in many ways, won an academic lottery, and I didn't think the next kid should have to.
That idea became Urban Coders Guild in 2017, but the organization that grew from it belongs to far more people than me. Students brought their curiosity and their own ideas about what they wanted to make. Families trusted us with their children, instructors shared their knowledge and patience, and partners, volunteers, staff, board members and funders helped turn an idea into something young people could actually be part of. My parents had helped make opportunity possible for me, and now there was a community helping make it possible for other children.
Looking through our photographs, I keep coming back to the people gathered around the computers. There are projects being demonstrated, students leaning in to see what someone else has made, classrooms full of work in progress, and people looking genuinely happy to be there together. The computers are important, obviously. But so are the relationships, the encouragement, and the chance for a young person to feel that their interests have a place, whether they're already confident or still figuring out what they enjoy.
Over the years, that work has taken different forms, from classes and student showcases to game-building projects and our Black Futures Hackathon. We've learned alongside our students, and we've also had difficult seasons that asked more of families and staff than I wanted them to have to carry. This past year was one of them. I'm grateful for the patience people have extended to us, and I want to honor it by doing the work carefully, not by pretending every part of the journey has been easy.
There is good work underway now. This summer, three MIT students helped us lay the foundation for a new Python learning environment, and we're continuing to strengthen our curriculum and the support behind our programs. Applications are open for our free 2026-27 afterschool computer science programs for Tulsa-area middle and high school students. As we enter our tenth year, I want young people to have room to discover what they enjoy, build real skills, and see more possibilities for themselves, with families and community alongside them.
What began as a thought about leaving Tokyo was also a thought about loving home enough to come back and do something useful. Nine years later, that love includes everyone who has helped make Urban Coders Guild what it is, especially the children whose curiosity gives us a reason to keep learning ourselves. Thank you for being part of this story, whether you've been with us for years or are just finding us. I hope you'll help us welcome the young people who will make the next chapter their own.
Be part of what comes next
Have a curious middle or high school student in your life? Our free afterschool computer science programs are accepting applications. No previous coding experience is required.
👉🏾 Explore the programs and apply
A gift to Urban Coders Guild helps support the work behind these opportunities. Thank you for helping us build the next chapter.
