FOREMAN, Ark. - Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson made a stop at Foreman High School Wednesday as part of his statewide coding initiative and encouraged students to be technologically prepared for the future.
Coding is now offered at all Arkansas high schools, thanks to the governor's goal to make the state No. 1 in computer science education.
"We're still leading the nation in computer science education, but we want the students to take advantage of this opportunity," Hutchinson said. While the courses are required to be offered at each high school, students are not required to take them.
"This is my ninth coding tour through Arkansas high schools," the governor said. "I have been to over 70 high schools and today I am at Foreman High School to encourage students to take computer science because there's tech jobs that are open that are very good-paying jobs. It's really important for the growth of our economy here in this state and so we're providing the opportunity. Here, we've already got a good number of students, but that can increase."
Hutchinson added that since the initiative began, the state has gone from 1,000 students taking computer science to more than 8,000 students enrolled.
"That's extraordinary growth and that shows that we're going to be fueling the next generation of tech companies right here in Arkansas," he said.
He also spoke about the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and how they affected him that day and in the future.
"It's an extraordinary day in American history," Hutchinson said of 9/11. "It affected me because I was in Congress and the president asked me to help set up the new Department of Homeland Security, which was our U.S. response to the terrorist attack."
He said that in setting up the nation's response to the attack, he put people with computer knowledge on his team to assist in the effort.
"What I utilized right here in the United States were computer science experts," Hutchinson said. "Coders. People who knew how to write software and tell the computer what to do because they're the ones who sat in our national targeting center and analyzed data to determine who might pose a risk to our country that is coming in from abroad."
He went on to encourage the students to be prepared for their future, no matter how that happens.
"The point is you never know what your life is going to bring," Hutchinson said. "It unfolds for you in very interesting ways as long as you're prepared for the future. That's what your job is now. Not always to figure out exactly what you're going to do down the road, but being prepared for what opportunities come in your direction. It unfolds in different ways for different people."