CSC News

NC State Computer Science Event to Help TechGirlz Set World Record

To honor Women’s History Month the national organization TechGirlz will attempt to set the world record for number of girls coding at the same time at its CodeBreakers event on March 30^th. TechGirlz aims to inspire and empower middle school girls through their passion for technology.

Through a collaboration between student groups and TechGirlz’s North Carolina chapter, the event will include a local session held on NC State’s Centennial Campus. Code Breakers at NC State will be held at the Hunt Library (1070 Partners Way) from 12:00-3:00pm, and is open to girls in fifth to ninth grade.

Women in Computer Science (WiCS), STARS Computing Corps at NC State, and the Computer Science Graduate Student Association (CSC GSA) are the three student groups that collaboratively have made the event possible.

Adam Gaweda is a PhD student in Computer Science at NC State and the Vice President of the CSC branch of the GSA. Gaweda played a major role in the planning of the event and sees it as an opportunity to introduce girls to the field of computer science at a young age and foster a stronger sense of community within the field as a whole.

“Getting girls invested in computer science early is important so that they can come into programs like ours at NC State and not feel like they are left out or not part of the group,” says Gaweda. “They are ready to hit the ground running and know that they enjoy this because they enjoy the community that helped bring them up in it.”

The workshop will teach students the elements of HTML and CSS and how to use them to create a website. The students will be able to make and personalize their own website using a text edit and web browser. Students are encouraged to bring their own device and snacks will be provided.

Students and parents are also welcomed to attend the College of Engineering Open House taking place on the same day from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

NC State is the first of the TechGirlz events that has sold out and currently has a wait list. With the event at capacity, Gaweda is looking for ways to grow the program. If you are interested in hosting a TechGirlz event on March 30^th, reach out to Adam Gaweda at agaweda@ncsu.edu.

~scanlon~