#TwitterSF hosts #GirlsWhoCode for Summer 2016 Immersion Program

Girls Who Code is an organization that works towards closing the gender disparity between boys and girls in the field of computer science. In order to do this, Girls Who Code hosts summer immersion programs in leading companies across the nation, in which a teaching staff guides a class of 20 girls through workshops and classes for seven weeks.

This summer, Twitter HQ (@Twoffice) hosted a group of Girls Who Code members for a Summer Immersion Program. The girls learned how to code in a variety of different languages and were exposed to the Twitter platform as well as to the technology industry at large through a series of speaker events, assigned mentors and frequent opportunities to engage with Tweeps in the office through groups such as WomEng (@womeng) and Women in UX.

Gabi Michaelson, one of the Girls Who Code students who was part of the immersion program at HQ said, “Everyone here has been really nice and supportive of Girls Who Code. They think it’s really great that we are here and that we are learning to code. It’s nice to see other people believe in us.”

During the immersion program, which was led by a Girls Who Code teaching assistant, each girl was assigned a project, which they worked on and delivered at the end of their time at HQ. In addition, the girls had a packed Town Hall event with Jack Dorsey (@jack), and had the opportunity to attend events such as Hackweek where they were able to gain further exposure and understanding of the tech industry.

Emily Chen, one of the Girls Who Code teaching assistants for the summer program described her experience at HQ as an exciting one: “When I first heard about Girls Who Code and their Summer Immersion Program, I fell in love with what they were trying to achieve and knew I wanted to be a part of it. However, I never could have imagined how incredible this experience would actually be. Watching these girls tackle foreign concepts, difficult projects, and real world issues with such curiosity, resilience and ingenuity has been so inspiring. I am so grateful to have been able to be a part of this program where I could teach these girls but also learn so much from them.”