Maker Faire NoVa 2024

Code: Empower

Home: Virginia, United States

Code: Empower seeks to empower young girls in computer science through demonstrating the field's exciting potential and relevance to other fields. We will be utilizing Sphero Mini robots at NOVA MakerFaire. Follow us on Instagram @code_empower.

Categories: Computers & Mobile Devices, Education, Electronics, Robotics, Young Makers,

Maker

Samantha Oh

Samantha Oh is a junior at Oakton High School. She hopes to study computer science in college, and started Code: Empower as her Girl Scout Gold Award Project. Samantha noticed the small number of girls in her advanced computer science classes, and decided to try to fix the issue through exposing middle school girls in NOVA to the potential of computer science. Based on her experience volunteering and leading a nonprofit, she thought workshops would be the best way to do so. In her freetime, she also is an avid music lover, singer, and reader.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/samanthaohx/

What Inspired You to Make This?

My Gold Award aims to address the lack of girls in computer science. About 20% of undergraduate computer science degrees were awarded to women, and there is a huge imbalance between the number of males and females in the field. I have experienced this inequity myself in high school. In my current computer science class there are only 5 girls in a class of ~30, and in past computer science classes I have taken, there have been similar ratios. I have also talked to other girls taking computer science classes at my school and it is the same across the board.