Emily Simens

According to the National Center for Women in Technology鈥檚 2016 analysis, only 26 percent聽of professional computing occupations in the United States are held by women. This statistic is shocking in the current age of educational equality, but is on a steady rise thanks to organizations devoted to bringing technology to females across the country. One national program,聽, is dedicated to closing the gender gap in technology once and for all.

What鈥檚 the best way to do this? Leaders and professionals at Girls Who Code have been trying to answer this question since the program鈥檚 founding in 2012. They believe this non-dismissible gap can be fixed by teaching school-aged girls the wonders and powers of technology. This is precisely how sophomore Emily Simens is spending her summer鈥攁s a teaching assistant for the J.P. Morgan Chase Brooklyn chapter of the Girls Who Code program.

The empowering cause of the organization is close to the heart for Simens, a dual major at the (iSchool) and the . After participating in the Girls Who Code Summer Immersion Program when she was in high school, Simens attributes her love of technology to the program鈥檚 influence on its participants.

鈥淸This program] inspired me to study technology in college and apply to the iSchool,鈥� she says. 鈥淎fter spending a year at the iSchool and being involved in the聽聽program I knew I wanted to spend my time on something really meaningful this summer. It combines my love for technology with my passion for nonprofit organizations and making positive changes in the world.鈥�

As far as summer volunteer programs go, this is meaningful indeed.聽Nintey-three percent聽of聽聽participants say they are interested in a computer science major because of the program, a direct success of the Girls Who Code influence.

Simens realizes what her time and effort is going to. 鈥淚’m really looking forward to being a聽part of a program that has such a lasting impact on girls. Being able to make a difference in other students’ lives really excites me.鈥� As of 2015, Girls Who Code鈥檚 programming and clubs had an impact on the lives of over 12,000 girls in four short years. With this record,聽Simens’ work is sure to make an impact.

Simens鈥� training for her first-ever teaching experience included an intensive weekend in Atlanta. 鈥淲e went through some coding projects, learned how to plan lessons, practiced teaching and participated in a presentation from the Perception Institute,鈥� she recalls. 鈥淚t was amazing to be able to connect with other like-minded teaching teams who are passionate about technology.鈥�

Simens’ Girls Who Code class in Brooklyn

Through this training, Simens learned that she will be teaching many of the specific skills she has learned throughout her iSchool education. 鈥淲e are teaching the students how to code in聽Python. One of the first projects they dive into is creating a photo filter. I feel聽confident teaching that topic since I took IST 256,鈥� states Simens. IST 256 is an application programming course required for all iSchool undergraduates. 鈥淎nother important skill I learned during 256 was how to use GitHub. The students will be using it this summer to collaborate when they work on group projects.鈥�

While this summer will be one to remember for Simens, she also hopes to make it memorable for the students she聽is teaching. This experience will definitely affect her plans for her post-iSchool future. She is consistently inspired by the founder of Girls Who Code, Reshma Saujani. 鈥淸Saujani] has served as a public advocate, given commencement speeches, a TED talk聽and so much more. She’s an amazing role model, and always answers my emails even though she’s probably the busiest person I know!鈥� Simens gushes. 鈥淚 definitely see myself creating or starting something in the future. Working at a really innovative nonprofit organization with so many brilliant people will be an amazing experience.鈥�