Civic Engagement
The impact of G4CSE is endless and extends far beyond the walls of our school.
The impact of G4CSE is endless and extends far beyond the walls of our school.
Through Highlander Hacks, the team, Girls for Computer Science Equality, was able to address the lack of women and non-binary representation in the STEM field, more specifically Computer Science. This hackathon event was exclusively for girls and non-binary students to enhance their skills in computer science. In order to keep the event fair, the team invited middle and high school students, categorizing them based on their knowledge and skills. Additionally, the team thought it was crucial and fair to recruit judges who were women that worked in the field of computer science. By doing so, we believed that the judges would inspire the attendees to follow their passion in computer science, and close the gender gap in this work field. Through recruitment of a diverse array of judges, we were also able to inspire our participants, as we heard lots of positive feedback about our guest speakers! We wanted to emphasize representation through our diverse staff and partnerships. One of our judges was an assistant professor of Computer Science at CSUN and the other worked in IT at a local pharmaceutical startup. As for advocacy, we consistently promoted the value of diversity reflected in computer science and encouraged our participants to share our passion on this issue! During the closing ceremony of Highlander Hacks, the leader of Girls for Computer Science Equality, Angela Yang, advertised another computer science learning opportunity that would be held at the Ronald Reagan Library. This ensured that participants were linked to other local opportunities, where they could build upon their current skills and interests!
Through Highlander Hacks, the team, Girls for Computer Science Equality, was able to address the lack of women and non-binary representation in the STEM field, more specifically Computer Science. This hackathon event was exclusively for girls and non-binary students to enhance their skills in computer science. In order to keep the event fair, the team invited middle and high school students, categorizing them based on their knowledge and skills. Additionally, the team thought it was crucial and fair to recruit judges who were women that worked in the field of computer science. By doing so, we believed that the judges would inspire the attendees to follow their passion in computer science, and close the gender gap in this work field. Through recruitment of a diverse array of judges, we were also able to inspire our participants, as we heard lots of positive feedback about our guest speakers! We wanted to emphasize representation through our diverse staff and partnerships. One of our judges was an assistant professor of Computer Science at CSUN and the other worked in IT at a local pharmaceutical startup. As for advocacy, we consistently promoted the value of diversity reflected in computer science and encouraged our participants to share our passion on this issue! During the closing ceremony of Highlander Hacks, the leader of Girls for Computer Science Equality, Angela Yang, advertised another computer science learning opportunity that would be held at the Ronald Reagan Library. This ensured that participants were linked to other local opportunities, where they could build upon their current skills and interests!