During Ellis Wyms' time as a defensive tackle for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, community outreach was just as important as the performance on the field.
And after a visit to a nearby Microsoft store, where Wyms learned the store provided computer science classes, he began thinking of ways to give back on his own, specifically in rural communities.
"I thought, 'You know what? This would be great if children who didn’t live near a Microsoft store had the chance to take a class," Wyms, who grew up in rural Mississippi, said. "If you don't grow up in a city or near a university, you don't have that education opportunity, so I wanted to do something that had an educational impact and economic impact for those not getting educational opportunities."
In 2018 he launched Athletes for Computer Science, which combines athletes and computer science classes into a program for students in kindergarten through eighth grade. Over 1,000 students have been in the program so far and this weekend Wyms will be headed to Miami for Super Bowl weekend to participate in the Players Networking Event. Current and former athletes will have a chance to showcase their businesses.
After playing for the Buccanners, Seattle Seahawks and Minnesota Vikings, Wyms made the program his full-time career with the help of his former teammates Warren Sapp, Simeon Rice, Chuck Darby, Greg Spires and Booger McFarland.
"When you leave the NFL, honestly one of the toughest things is finding out who you are when you don't have a helmet on," Wyms, who majored in technology education in college, said. "That's a tough transition and when you've done something that long it defines you ... I'm lucky I found something that's both my passions, which is technology and helping the community. It's been a blessing for me to find myself in the space."
The program is all conducted through video conferences and held either as an elective through a school year or summer program. Wyms recruits and pays college education majors to teach the fundamentals of computers, such as defining the internet and teaching the basics of how apps and software are programmed.
Athletes volunteer their time to serve as ambassadors, kicking off the program by making a video appearance and encouraging the students as they go through the course. The program has already had USA Women's soccer player Brandi Chastain, NBA TV analyst Sekou Smith, former NBA player Lance Thomas and fellow former Bucs teammate Warrick Dunn, who taught classes in his hometown of Baton Rouge.
Wyms understands the shift from sports to technology is an unusual route, but underlined the importance of boosting the sector in coming years.
"Technology is part of every single industry and every company has to become somewhat of a tech company," he said. "IT is going to play a role in any business that exists on the planet today. There is a shortage on tech talent in America — our government knows that, our private sector knows that, so we all have to play a role in making sure we’re prepping our children for the economy of the future."
However, he added he wants the program to go beyond tech skills and instill confidence in education as a whole.
"A lot of what we're doing is not teaching a kid to be a software programmer, but to inspire them in education," Wyms said. "To give them a reason why education is important and give them confidence to go out in the economy and compete for the best job. It's hard to put time and energy into something when you don't think there's a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Give them something realistic to shoot for: work for the best company in the world or start your own. Through technology and innovation, anything is possible. It's not just about software programming, it's about inspiration."
Wyms is seeking students, athletes and funding for his goal of launching in 50 schools at the start of the 2020 school year. Anyone interested can contact Wyms at info@afcsnow.com.
