I left Mississippi believing opportunity waited elsewhere. After college, military service, and traveling the world, I never expected to return. But standing in Korea, thousands of miles from home, I ran into a former teacher from Mississippi — a reminder of how small the world really is.
Over the next few years, I realized that Mississippi didn’t just need more opportunities; it needed people willing to return and build them. This journey reflects what’s possible for all Mississippians: discovering that our greatest contributions often lie in developing the place that shaped us.
The Untapped Potential of Mississippi’s Economic Renaissance
Mississippi has always been rich with talent. Our people possess intelligence, creativity, and determination in abundance. What’s been missing are accessible pathways to transform these qualities into careers that can sustain families, communities, and ultimately, our state’s economy.
The digital revolution has created unprecedented opportunities for economic mobility and statewide growth. Careers in technology offer sustainable wages, remote work options, and growth potential that can transform both individual lives and our collective prosperity. When Mississippians develop these skills, they become economic catalysts who attract employers, launch businesses, and mentor others — creating a cycle of growth that benefits the entire state.
Mississippi Coding Academies: Developing People Who Develop Mississippi
This is why Mississippi Coding Academies (MCA) exists. Founded in 2017 by visionaries Richard Sun and Mike Forster, MCA started with a radical premise: high-quality tech education should be available to everyone—regardless of prior education, financial resources, or background.
Our program is completely tuition-free. No cost. No debt. No barriers.
What began as a single program has grown into a statewide initiative with five campuses, including our newest in Natchez, which opened in February 2025. Four of those five campuses are located in cities with fewer than 50,000 residents, and three are in rural (nonmetropolitan) counties.
With support from organizations like the Walton Family Foundation, we’re creating tech hubs in communities that have long been overlooked but are essential to Mississippi’s comprehensive economic development.
Our approach works. Last year, we graduated 28 students who moved directly into tech careers. These graduates don’t just gain employment — they undergo profound personal and professional transformation. They develop problem-solving capabilities, communication skills, and the confidence to navigate complex technical challenges. Nearly our entire staff consists of program alumni, proving that our approach to student development creates leaders who reinvest their skills in Mississippi’s future.
Whole-Person Development: The True Value of Technical Education
While coding remains our foundation, we recognize that Mississippi’s tech workforce requires well-rounded professionals. Our student development approach encompasses:
- Technical mastery: Students develop expertise in full-stack web development, cloud computing fundamentals, data analysis, cybersecurity principles, and DevOps methodologies.
- Professional growth: Through mentorship, mock interviews, and industry partnerships, students develop the workplace skills and professional networks crucial for long-term career advancement.
- Personal transformation: Our students build resilience, time management, and collaborative capabilities that extend beyond technical work—skills that make them valuable contributors to any workplace and community.
- Economic literacy: We help students understand how their skills contribute to Mississippi’s economic ecosystem, empowering them to make strategic career decisions that benefit both themselves and their communities.
AI: Empowering Mississippi’s Economic Future
Artificial intelligence represents both a challenge and an opportunity for Mississippi’s workforce and economy. At MCA, we prepare students to be leaders in this transformation.
First, we’re integrating AI tools like OpenClass.AI into our instruction, creating personalized learning experiences that can adapt to each student’s needs. As part of the Mississippi AI Collaborative, we’re ensuring these technologies recognize and respect Mississippi’s unique dialects and cultural contexts.
Second, we’re teaching students to work alongside AI as a productivity multiplier. Our graduates understand prompt engineering, AI limitations, and how to leverage these tools while applying critical human judgment. This approach ensures that our graduates become pioneers in bringing AI-enhanced productivity to Mississippi businesses and organizations.
Real Lives, Real Economic Impact
Among countless success stories, Angela Strong’s journey exemplifies our dual mission of personal and economic development. Angela is a graduate of the MCA Delta Campus in Clarksdale, Mississippi. To support her family, Angela juggled multiple service jobs and enrolled in the program alongside her granddaughter, Spirit. For Angela, the program wasn’t just about personal advancement—it was about showing her granddaughter that new paths were possible at any age.
Today, Angela works in a technical role at the Internal Revenue Service, while Spirit has launched her own tech career. Their story reflects not just multigenerational impact but economic multiplication: two new tech professionals contributing to Mississippi’s tax base, financial strength, and talent pool. When one person gains digital skills, both family trajectories and local economies change.
Expanding Mississippi’s Digital Economy: Workforce 360
To reach even more Mississippians and accelerate our state’s economic transformation, we launched Workforce 360: Code to Career in February, an entirely virtual program designed specifically for those facing additional barriers:
- Individuals in alternative education programs.
- People pursuing their GED.
- Formerly incarcerated individuals seeking fresh starts.
- Rural residents without access to our physical campuses.
This program upholds our rigorous standards while offering the flexibility necessary to accommodate diverse life circumstances. By developing talent in previously overlooked populations, we’re expanding Mississippi’s technological workforce and creating economic opportunity in areas that have historically been left behind.
Building Mississippi Together
Mississippi stands at a crossroads. We can continue the patterns that have led to brain drain and limited economic mobility, or we can build something new: a tech ecosystem that harnesses our greatest resource, our people.
This isn’t just about individual opportunity; it’s about Mississippi’s future. Every student who develops digital skills helps develop Mississippi’s economy. Each graduate who stays or returns strengthens our communities and contributes to a more prosperous state.
If you’re reading this, I ask three things:
- Tell others about Mississippi Coding Academies and the transformative student development it offers.
- If you’re an employer, consider hiring our graduates and partnering with our programs to strengthen Mississippi’s economy.
- If you have skills to share, volunteer as a mentor or guest speaker to help develop our state’s next generation of tech talent.
The next generation of tech leaders shouldn’t have to leave Mississippi to build meaningful careers. Together, we can build them right here, creating a stronger economy for all Mississippians.
Mississippi isn’t just ready for the digital future—with the right investments in our people, we will lead it.
Bob Buseck is executive director of Mississippi Coding Academies.
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