Are you interested in competitive programming? Are you interested in math and critical thinking, but haven’t found the place to implement these skills? Or, better yet, are you looking for a fun club to participate in after school? If so, FM Programming Club is the answer for you! The club meets on most Wednesdays in Mr. Phan’s room, 2231. The group discusses competition plans, strategies, and solves problems from LeetCode, Code Quest, USACO, and Codeforces. The language of focus is Python; however, if you are knowledgeable in C++, Java, or C, there’s no problem!
Club members have participated in a variety of both in person and online competitions. Hosts range from UC Berkeley and Cornell University all the way to Lockheed Martin. Most competitions are fit for teams of three people, and in the beginning of the year, a pool of top programmers is selected to form such teams. There are seniors who will graduate, so slots are freeing up! And don’t worry; if competing publicly isn’t your thing, the club is totally open to anyone who wants to stop by casually and learn some programming skills.
Recently, FM Programming Club has seen great success at the 2025 Lockheed Martin Code Quest competition at Owego, NY. Code Quest is held globally across nations such as the United States, Australia, Singapore, and New Zealand each year, with the majority of in-person competitions held in the U.S.
At the Lockheed Martin Owego location, teams engaged in three hours of tackling the contest’s problems in the most recent event. Afterwards, Lockheed Martin representatives hosted a tour of some of their facilities, and offered a generous lunch. In addition, the staff shared their own stories on how learning to code boosted their future opportunities, ultimately leading to programming being a major part of their lives. The representatives’ similar experiences of learning to code as high schoolers resonated with the students, encouraging them to think about pursuing related jobs in the future. The awards ceremony concluded the event, with a total of six trophies given out to each of the top three teams competing in the advanced and novice division. All four of FM teams placed this year, winning the top three placings in the advanced division, and first place in the novice division. Code Quest was an unforgettable experience, and the club looks forward to taking part in future competitions there.
The next competition will be on March 29th at Cornell University, and the club hopes to be able to implement all that it has learned at this prestigious setting.
Although it is fun to receive awards and recognition, what makes FM Programming Club so meaningful is the group of individuals one encounters throughout all the experiences. Being around other young minds can be extremely inspiring and spark insightful conversations relevant not only to the competition itself but computing knowledge in general.
In the current day, programming and AI are evolving to become cornerstones of the economy. The digital revolution stands to impact the job market– chances are, having some knowledge in computer science will be beneficial for most STEM fields. However, as the club promotes, the teamwork and adaptive learning skills that club members takeaway are even more important regardless of one’s prospective occupation.
FM Programming Club is out and open to receiving new members in the near future! Stop by Room 2231 with any questions.
