New York Jets Head of App Development Paul Marsh was among those in attendance to see what young tech minds of Central Jersey had to offer.
The New York Jets’ community outreach took them to Edison, NJ this week, as the team’s Head of App Development Paul Marsh served on the board of judges for an app development competition hosted by Tata Consultancy Services’ goIT program.
Founded in 2009, the goIT program, according to its official website, “strengthens communities by empowering students today to create solutions for tomorrow”. Tuesday’s competition welcomed in five groups consisting of middle school children, aged 11-13. The young engineers presented their apps to a four-person panel, including Marsh.
“It’s a great program. I’m really excited I was able to come down here and see this,” Marsh said, per a TCS release. “I really hope I can come down and see some more great ideas in the future.”
Marsh served on the judges’ board alongside several other local figures, including TCS Program Manager Serene Gallegos and Edison Councilmen Sam Joshi and Leonard D. Sendelsky. He has been with the Jets since 2010 and was more than happy to oversee the progress and potential of the next generation’s creators.
“What the kids are doing here is a lot of what we do on a day to day, it’s spitballing ideas and working through them identifying the problem and solving it,” he said. “It was great to see the enthusiasm they had for that because a lot of those ideas seem to resonate with the group as a whole.”
The participants’ creations were judged on several factors, including problem definition, solutions, marketing, research, and pitch delivery. The winning project was an app called “Movie Star”, the idea of an all-female group that helps film school students and YouTube content creators get their ideas to the big screen.
Edison mayor Thomas Lankey was not in attendance for Tuesday’s event but was a key part in developing the relationship between TCS and the town.
“Over the course of several weeks, TCS employees worked with students after school to introduce them to important aspects of entrepreneurial thinking, teamwork, and app design played a key role,” Lankey said. “I commend TCS for their continued commitment to expanding access to opportunity in Edison. These types of public-private partnerships are the key to ensuring a promising future for every resident of Edison.”
TCS Government Relations representative Lonald Wishom Jr. was likewise pleased with the output.
“Seeing the kids realize that there’s so much more to building an app than coding/computer programming was really amazing to watch. Some students loved the coding while others really go into the market research or telling the stories for why their app matters. It was great seeing everyone realize that they have the ability to make their ideas into reality.”
This is not the first time this season the Jets have done community work in the Edison area, as defensive stars Brandon Copeland and Doug Middleton hosted an NFL Play60 event at Benjamin Franklin Elementary School earlier this month.
The Jets return to action this Sunday afternoon, taking on the Miami Dolphins on the road (1:00 p.m. ET, CBS).
