Girls Who Code partnered with Microsoft this summer to sponsor and host five Summer Immersion Programs in Microsoft offices across the country in San Francisco, Boston, Chicago, Redmond, and New York City.
Over the course of seven weeks, the girls learned the fundamentals of computer science: computational and algorithmic thinking while working on real-world projects. The girls had the chance to explore video games, robotics, web design, app development, algorithms and develop a final project of their own design. One group created “Illuminote”, a flute add-on that aids in visual learning by lighting up the notes needed to play a scale. Another group used their skills to build “Piper the Programmer: Jumps the Gender Gap”, a 2D scroller video game featuring a female character, played using a glove that promotes finger dexterity.
In addition to coding, the program participants also heard from guest speakers and went on awesome field trips to get a first hand look on what it’s like to work in the tech industry. Donna Woodall, Director of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Microsoft, (a girl who codes!) joined the girls from New York City in a Times Square takeover and shared her story of starting out in the tech industry before it was cool.
To top it off, Microsoft surprised the students who successfully completed the program with their very own Surfaces! What a great way to end the summer and promote the girls’ continued exploration of Computer Science.
Here’s a look inside our program with a member of the Summer Immersion Class of 2015, Alice Wu:
Name: Alice Wu
Age: 17 years old
Hometown: Forest Hills, NY
What interests you about coding?: There is no feeling more satisfying than making your code work. Not only does coding challenge me, coding makes me feel powerful. It enables me to create something that can be utilized by anyone. I just created an app, RescueMe, with a team of girls. The purpose of the app is to provide greater exposure for lost pets to expedite the process of returning the pet to his/her rightful owner. Despite accomplishing the app’s ultimate goal, working on the app made me realize the app will never be ‘finished’ there will always be something that you can add and coding gives you the power to do that.
How did you hear about Girls Who Code?: I searched a summer programs not knowing what to expect and found GWC.
What made you decide to apply for the program?: Despite knowing that there aren’t a lot of women dedicated to the engineering field, I never thought much of it. But upon reading the statistics listed on the GWC website, I immediately wanted to be a part of the movement. Helping break the statistic has become a personal goal of mine as well. I’m planning on finding the Girls Who Code Club at my school to help. Being a part of Girls Who Code has made me proud that I am a girl especially proud that I am a girl, who can code.
What was your favorite project you worked on during camp? My favorite program has to be my final project, RescueMe. RescueMe is an app that enables users to view all the animals enlisted ‘lost’ by their owners on a map. The app asks the user to fill a form that asks general information as well as the GPS coordinates of where his/her pet was last seen. This information is saved onto a database and is immediately listed onto our map.
Who was your favorite speaker/presenter? Why? My favorite presenter was Maayan Roth because she had this incredibly genuine vibe to her. I really admire that she uses her experience in coding to help people particularly cancer patients. She also mentioned to us girls that if she does acquire the time to do so, she wants to use coding to help the environment.
What career path do you want to take? Why? Aside from pursuing computer science, I would love to be involved in the medical field. My passion is to help as many people as I can. I want to wake up every morning knowing that may work can cause a positive impact on the world, just like Maayan Roth does.
To learn more about Microsoft’s commitment to youth and education, visit our YouthSpark Hub or follow us on twitter at @msftcitizenship.