Anu is a new member to our team, just starting her freshman year at Stanford. A coding camp had a big impact on her interests and trajectory as a student, so she returned to the camp as a counselor and now mentors young girls for Breakout Mentors 1-on-1! Let’s get to know her:
When did you start to code?
I looked at my first set of code during my “21th century Technology” class in my freshman year of high school. At the time, we were learning to code websites using HTML, and at first I thought the idea of scripting lines of seemingly unintelligible words was quite a daunting task. After attending a coding camp for underrepresented girls in Chicago, I learned that coding is actually much more like a creative process, and it can actually be fun!
Why is it important for kids to start coding when young?
Most children in today’s age are already very exposed to technology, I believe that coding is a great outlet for children to experience technology. Coding allows children to be expressive while understanding technology on a fundamental level. Additionally, it is important for children to learn code because it teaches them at a young age that anyone can be a coder or a “stem-er”, not just men and not just “computer nerds.” It’s important that we create a new and diverse image of a modern day coder by exposing coding to children of all types.
What advice do you have for kids learning how to code?
I would say to those children learning to code that it’s okay to make mistakes. It’s important to experiment with code, and learn what works and what doesn’t. Have fun coding, and code things that actually inspire you. It’s easier to do something you like than something you don’t like.