Mrs. Lint, the AP Computer Science teacher, has taken the initiative to start the Girls who Code club here at the Senior High. The all girls club meets every Thursday until 4:00 in S102 to discuss coding and participate in various activities.

Reshma Samaj founded the Girls who Code organization in 2012.  This organization focuses on promoting young women pursuing a career in Computer Science.  Girls who Code sponsors various summer camps teaching coding and software to young high school girls.

Mrs. Lint was inspired to form this club from her past experience in the Computer Science field, but also to raise awareness about the opportunities young women have. “I have a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and worked in the CS field prior to teaching.  I think it is an awesome way to make a living and in this day and age coding is available to anyone and everyone regardless of age or whether you are male or female.  However, women are underrepresented in this field and often times don’t realize what opportunities are available to them if they are knowledgeable about coding.  I hope to increase the awareness as much as possible here at Greater Latrobe so that more of our young girls take advantage of the opportunities that are out there for them,” said Mrs. Lint.

Lauren Sigut became a member because of her interest in the field after taking AP Computer Science. “I joined the club because I took AP Computer Science last year and really enjoyed it, so by joining this club I can continue learning about technology and how to code more complex things.” She also enjoys collaborating with other girls in the club who share the same aspirations. “My favorite part of being in this club is getting to talk to other girls in the school who share some of the same interests with me and being able to brainstorm and bounce ideas off of each other for feedback,” said Lauren.

During the meetings, members participate in various interactive activities designed to teach coding regardless of prior experience. “We participate in various unplugged activities and coding activities that incorporate the skills necessary to be successful at coding in any language.  Prior experience in coding is not necessary and we work together to help one another learn and grow in their knowledge.  We will be working on projects to showcase our skills and also find ways to help the community we live in,” explained Mrs. Lint.  “We talk about successful women in computer science in technology fields and what they have accomplished, then complete activities and or lessons to learn more about how we can code and create our own projects,” said Lauren.

The opportunities this club provides will help Lauren reach her career goal. “I aspire to be a NASA astronaut someday, and to do that I need to know a little bit of everything, including how to code so that I can be a valuable asset on any mission to space. This club has helped with this because it has expanded my knowledge of computer science so that I can do more with what the resources that I have available to me.”

If you are interested in joining a group of driven young women, who all share the same love for coding, be sure to stop by Mrs. Lint’s room this Thursday after school.