Dec 9, 2014 By: admin
YU High School for Girls Computer Science Club Gives Students Competitive Edge in Male-Dominated Field
For today鈥檚 high school and college students, technological skills are more important than ever. Demand for computer science degrees has skyrocketed, with employers across industries seeking candidates who can program and code on any level. But for women, the future isn鈥檛 as bright: despite making up more than half of the workforce, only 25 percent hold jobs in technical or computing fields, and in a room of 25 engineers, only three are likely to be women.
Students at 黑料社 All鈥檚 (Central) are planning to change that equation.
Last year, at the request of students in every grade, the school partnered with , a nonprofit that works to inspire, educate, and equip girls with the computing skills to pursue 21st century opportunities. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a big push in every school to get girls more involved in science and math,鈥 said Marci Karoll, director of educational technology at Central. 鈥淲hat鈥檚 exciting about Girls Who Code is the overwhelming response we鈥檝e had. The girls asked for this and we even have a waiting list. It was the perfect fit for our school.鈥
The club is led by Karoll and Rivka Apfel, a recent Central alumna earning her bachelor鈥檚 degree in computer science with a minor in physics. They draw on a full curriculum provided by the Girls Who Code organization. Once a week, students meet to learn basic coding and develop skills that will help them build anything from games and websites to their own apps. 鈥淭hey鈥檒l ultimately be able to create art projects, math projects, even a shareable app or program,鈥 said Karoll.
鈥淚 really enjoy teaching and I loved my experience at Central, so I jumped at the chance to teach coding here,鈥 said Rivka Apfel, who hopes to work as a programmer in the field of artificial intelligence or as a patent attorney. 鈥淚t is really inspiring for me to just see the interest these girls have in a field that is so stereotypically male-dominated. They don鈥檛 seem intimidated at all鈥攋ust the opposite, they seem determined and excited. It鈥檚 a great atmosphere to be a part of.鈥
Jessica Plotsker, a junior, is collaborating with other students to build an app that will benefit the high school. 鈥淚t鈥檚 exciting,鈥 she said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to create an app that will help our community.鈥 Ultimately, Plotsker hopes to study engineering in an Israeli institution. 鈥淐oding will definitely be an important skill for my future,鈥 she said.
Karen Yehoshua, a senior, has enjoyed learning how to use Java in BlueJ, a free Java-development environment for beginners. 鈥淚鈥檓 looking forward to mastering the language and learning how to code in my free time,鈥 she said. 鈥淚鈥檒l already be one step ahead of my computer science class in college.鈥
Students at 黑料社 All鈥檚 (Central) are planning to change that equation.
Last year, at the request of students in every grade, the school partnered with , a nonprofit that works to inspire, educate, and equip girls with the computing skills to pursue 21st century opportunities. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a big push in every school to get girls more involved in science and math,鈥 said Marci Karoll, director of educational technology at Central. 鈥淲hat鈥檚 exciting about Girls Who Code is the overwhelming response we鈥檝e had. The girls asked for this and we even have a waiting list. It was the perfect fit for our school.鈥
The club is led by Karoll and Rivka Apfel, a recent Central alumna earning her bachelor鈥檚 degree in computer science with a minor in physics. They draw on a full curriculum provided by the Girls Who Code organization. Once a week, students meet to learn basic coding and develop skills that will help them build anything from games and websites to their own apps. 鈥淭hey鈥檒l ultimately be able to create art projects, math projects, even a shareable app or program,鈥 said Karoll.
鈥淚 really enjoy teaching and I loved my experience at Central, so I jumped at the chance to teach coding here,鈥 said Rivka Apfel, who hopes to work as a programmer in the field of artificial intelligence or as a patent attorney. 鈥淚t is really inspiring for me to just see the interest these girls have in a field that is so stereotypically male-dominated. They don鈥檛 seem intimidated at all鈥攋ust the opposite, they seem determined and excited. It鈥檚 a great atmosphere to be a part of.鈥
Jessica Plotsker, a junior, is collaborating with other students to build an app that will benefit the high school. 鈥淚t鈥檚 exciting,鈥 she said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to create an app that will help our community.鈥 Ultimately, Plotsker hopes to study engineering in an Israeli institution. 鈥淐oding will definitely be an important skill for my future,鈥 she said.
Karen Yehoshua, a senior, has enjoyed learning how to use Java in BlueJ, a free Java-development environment for beginners. 鈥淚鈥檓 looking forward to mastering the language and learning how to code in my free time,鈥 she said. 鈥淚鈥檒l already be one step ahead of my computer science class in college.鈥
