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Girls Who Code 2019 in TRF Comes to an End

2019-06-04 | By ASHLEY

The Thief River Falls Chapter of Girls Who Code (GWC) 2019 recently came to an end. GWC is a national non-profit organization whose main mission is to bridge the gender gap in Computer Science and Technology.

Four girls consistently showed up and worked together to create a self-help app for iOS and Android. One initiative of GWC is to see a need in the community, and fill that need. With the students ranging from 6th grade to 12th, they are very aware of the heightened rate of mental illness and suicide amongst teens. Their idea was to create a chatroom where users could anonymously log in, select the problem they want to talk about (mental illness, parents, homework, etc.), and chat with others of a similar age that understand what they are going through. A safe place where all teens are welcome.

H.O.P.E. = Hold On, Pain Ends is the name of their app. Although they were unable to complete the app in one semester, the students all plan to continue working on the project until completion. These girls absolutely blew all of us away with their heart and passion for not only coding, but helping others.

Over the last few months they have learned a lot about Android Studio for Android apps and Xcode for iOS apps, along with how to effectively work together as a team towards their goal. The girls that aren’t graduating are excited to return next year and complete their apps.

Our hope is to spread the word about what an exciting opportunity this is for all girls in 6th-12th grade. It’s so much more than just learning to code. They gain a sense of community amongst their other GWC peers and pride in what they’ve accomplished.

For more information on GWC, visit their website: https://girlswhocode.com/about-us/

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