Laura Willson, a Girl Who Codes

Happy Wednesday!
Today, it’s our pleasure to introduce to you an amazing young woman, and future corporate sister by the name of Laura Willson. At 16 years young, and a middle child of eight from parents of Puerto-Rican and Chilean heritage, Laura is a girl who codes!
For those of our readers who are unfamiliar with the Girls Who Code organization, it’s a non-profit initiative founded by political entrepreneur Reshma Saujani back in 2012. The Girls Who Code organization aims at teaching young girls and women the art of coding, in an inspiring (and very much successful) attempt at fostering parity of pay and opportunity in traditionally male-dominated STEM fields such as computer science.

Today’s Sister of Impact, Laura Willson, participated in the program in the Summer of 2013. She has been so kind to allow us into her experience, her wonderful achievements including being a runner-up in the prestigious Aspirations in Computing Award competition, as well as her dreams for the future, dreams we are convinced she will undoubtedly achieve and even surpass.

– Laura, can you tell us a bit about you? What are you currently studying, and what do you enjoy doing?

I am the middle child of eight. I am currently a junior an all-girls high school, Saint Jean Baptiste High School. This fall I will apply to college, and my dream school is Columbia University. I am Latina, my mom is Puerto Rican and my father is Chilean. I am a girl who codes!

– Laura, you are a girl who codes (congrats on all your achievements!). How did you get into coding, and what do you enjoy most about it?

I became involved in coding when I attended the Girls Who Code Program this past summer. What I enjoy most about coding is gaining experience of the back end of coding, and although at times I don’t like being frustrated, I have learned that frustration is your best friend because it helps keep you going and learning from your mistakes

– Carol/Mom, did you encourage Laura to take up coding? How do you view coding as a skill for young girls/women, and would you recommend it to other girls/women?

My name is Carol Willson. I am a mother of 8 children. They are the following ages: 26, 24, 20, 16, 14, 12, 9, and 8 years old. I have 4 girls and 4 boys. I learned about coding once Laura became part of the Girls Who Code Program last summer. The Girls Who Code Program was a good experience for Laura. I definitely recommend girls/women learn how to code. It is important because technology is constantly changing. Even if you are not thinking about pursuing a career in computer science, it is always good to learn something new and there are many jobs one can have by knowing how to code.

– Laura, is coding also part of your future career/work/life plans? How do you plan on incorporating this skill into your future?

Coding is part of my future plans and I plan on incorporating these skills into my life by making an app or website that can help make a difference in other people’s lives.

– Carol/Mom, what do you have to say to other parents of young girls/women about the benefits of learning to code for their daughters?

I would say to parents of young girls/women daughters. You are our future. We need more girls/ women in the STEM field. We need to change the mentality of men. Girls need to be given a chance to show what they are capable of. The gender gap needs to be closed because there is not enough women in the STEM field. Laura is thinking about creating a website that talks about her coding experience so she can encourage other young women interested in technology to dive into coding.

– Laura, for those of us who don’t know much about coding, myself included, can you tell us a bit about what coding allows you to do?

Coding allows you to make different things, such as a game and an app. You can even design your own website, which I am actually planning to do. Coding can even help cure diseases, which is something I mentioned in the video you will find in the link below.

– Finally, Laura, what do you have to say to all the other young girls/women out there who may be curious about coding  but still haven’t tried it?

I would tell other young women interested in technology that coding is important to learn even if you are not thinking about pursuing a computer science career. Technology is part of our everyday lives today and it is always advancing. Not only will you learn more when you code, but you will also help make a difference in many people’s lives. Also, we need to close the gender gap because women make up only 26% in the STEM field. That means, there is a wide gender gap that needs to be filled because men make up 74% of STEM workers.
Thank you for this amazing opportunity to share my experience with other girls to encourage them to pursue a career in one of the STEM fields.

For more information on Laura and the Girls Who Code organization, please check out the below articles and video:

href=”http://ddc.college.columbia.edu/news/ddc-student-featured-article-daily-beastcom” target=”_blank”>ddc.college.columbia.edu/news/ddc-student-featured-article-daily-beastcom