At Wilcox, Girls Who Code (GWC) is an active club that aims to increase engagement and interest in computer science. Led by co-presidents Maryam Ismail and Anagha Dogiparthi along with advisor Ms. Galperin, the club holds informative meetings and organizes events throughout the year to encourage people to take interest in computer science.
The international nonprofit organization, founded in 2012, originally sought to increase the number of women in STEM-related fields by boosting their confidence through easy-to-follow programs. However, GWC has repeatedly expressed that they are readily welcoming male club members as well, so there is no limit as to who could join.
Formed in 2020, the GWC club at Wilcox reflected the same goals as the international organization. One of the club’s presidents, Maryam Ismail, expressed, “Although our purpose is to empower women in STEM-related fields and bridge the gender gap in computer science, we also have many different opportunities for students regardless of gender to learn coding.” She expands by explaining that they have monthly meetings where the board officers present about a specific topic related to coding. Oftentimes, after the lecture the club members play a Kahoot to review and test their knowledge, as well as possibly win prizes.
Last year, GWC hosted an Innovate Challenge at Wilcox for the first time. The Innovate Challenge is a unique opportunity for underclassmen to hone their business and CS skills in a competitive environment. The club especially hopes that underclassmen girls will be encouraged to pursue STEM through the competition. As for the event itself, participants teamed up with others and either coded or proposed a business plan that fit the overarching theme of the event, competing with other participants to win prizes. Ismail adds, “As it was so successful last year even though it was a new event, we plan on making it annual!”
In addition to informative meetings and the Innovate Challenge, Ismail mentions that GWC has also “done a 12 week series of python classes in which [they] taught high school students in Uganda.” GWC collaborated with an organization, called Mulia, which aims to garner more attention and education for high school girls in Uganda. The club gathered volunteers who were willing to teach Ugandan students how to code from the very basics. For around 3 months, volunteers woke up early every Saturday to teach the students via Zoom, while the club presidents supervised.
As for the club’s activities and goals going forward, Ismail expresses that she hopes GWC could “help students network and build important connections” to one another, but also connect them to important STEM resources outside of school. She also adds, “We want to inspire more girls to explore and possibly pursue computer science paths in the future.”
Although the club has only been active for four years, GWC has made many significant advancements for female students here at Wilcox. They have always stuck to their primary goal of encouraging more girls to pursue careers in STEM-related fields, whether through meetings, competitions, or volunteer programs. And going forward, they plan to make further progress in their mission for girls around the world.
