Quinnipiac Girls Who Code became an official club on Sept. 9, with the goals to close gender gaps by highlighting female advancements, build connections with female and non-binary youth in middle and high schools and increase interest in technology.
Girls Who Code (GWC) is an international non-profit organization that aims to support and increase the number of women in computer science by refining networking skills, boosting confidence among members and educating members with computing skills to help them pursue careers and opportunities.
Quinnipiac’s chapter of GWC is now an official student club, adding to the 190-plus existing student-run clubs at Quinnipiac.
Co-president and junior computer science major Adelina Chocho explained that GWC became an official student organization to become more recognized and reach more people.
“Not many people knew we existed,” she said, which led to her trying to spread awareness and create opportunities for anyone interested in coding.
Chocho expressed that making this club official felt like “the best way to grow and get more students to get involved.”
“I think something everyone should know about Girls Who Code is that our main goal is to help in getting more women into the field and promote diversity in technology,” Ella Berry, junior computer science major and GWC co-president said.
Berry went on to mention how the first ever coders and programmers were women, such as Ada Lovelace, who created the first published computer program. This fact amazes Berry as females dominated the industry when it first began; however, once technology became popular, men joined and took over. GWC aims to correct that.
With no limits on the number of members or demographics of members, the first meeting was held on Sept. 10. in the Communications and Computing & Engineering building. There will be general meetings biweekly with additional meetings scheduled as necessary by the executive board — all of which will be open to any Quinnipiac student.
“It means a lot, it’s about creating a safe space for younger students to become genuinely excited about coding and technology,” Chocho said. “Watching their curiosity and creativity grow and seeing them come back each week eager to learn more is inspiring. It reminds me of when I first started coding, and I love that I can now help give them that same experience.”
The club’s officers are Chocho, Berry, Treasurer and junior computer science major Sam Woodburn, Secretary and junior computer science major Reeya Patel and Public Relations Chair and junior computer science major Megan Mohr.
“My co-president Adelina and I took a lot of time over the summer to plan out what we wanted our fall and spring to look like and what we wanted to accomplish,” Berry said. “Additionally, we have been talking to a past president of ours, Emily, who has been an immense help! Since the semester has begun, we have been mainly focusing on recruitment with both university students and students in surrounding public/private middle and high schools.”
For the first year of this club’s existence, they will be on probationary status. This means they have been given a provisional one-year recognition to allow the club to develop. At the end of this “trial,” Quinnipiac Girls Who Code will be completely recognized as a student organization as long as all the conditions are met.
“Since freshman year, this club has truly brought me closer to my peers here at Quinnipiac and given me a sense of belonging within the community,” Berry said. “Additionally, the club has given me purpose and an ability to give back to those living around our school. As a computer science major, my courses here are incredibly male-dominated compared to other studies and knowing that I could have a hand in bridging this divide in future generations is extremely fulfilling to me.”
Patel says that this club builds a community “where young women feel safe and supported” as they begin their journey in the technology industry. Patel also believes that GWC helps to create a learning environment to grow and empower each other in a male-dominated industry.
