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Tech-Girl Monthly:  July/August 2021

MozFest Community Connections

This summer I became a MozFest ambassador. So what is MozFest? Before my first experience, I probably thought it was just a tech conference run by Mozilla, but I discovered it is so much more! I have experienced MozFest from many different angles: lurking online, participant, session facilitator, session mentor & wrangler. To me, MozFest is the space where internet health issues and the larger implications for society are not only acknowledged, but are actively being addressed by a diverse, committed, and growing group of people!
MozFest 2019 with Aiobheann

One of the things I love about the MozFest community is how they embrace young people and give their voice a platform to address issues that are important to them. At MozFest 2019 I had the opportunity to meet several young women including Aiobheann Mangan (pictured above) who has been a tireless advocate for girls in STEM in Ireland and beyond! As a MozFest ambassador, I'm excited to use this opportunity to help the Tech-Girls community connect with the MozFest community through a new monthly feature, MozFest Community Connections:

  • Want to be part of the solution to AI issues? Check out the #TrustworthyAI Working Groups projects! You can join as a contributor, observer or user. This could be a cool opportunity for teachers and/or students to bring real world problem solving into the classroom. Call for participation ends Sep 30. Learn more here.
  • I was so excited to see the new on-demand page with a wealth of amazing content from 5 years of #MozFest! Find videos on a wide range of tech-related topics like responding to coded bias, AI & the environment, and closing the gender digital divide. Learn more here.

Spotlight: Bio-Med Tech-Girls

Each month we spotlight a woman or girl in tech who inspires us. This month we are highlighting the 9 young women who joined the Bio-Med Tech-Girls program. This annual summer program from Tech-Girls is a collaboration between the UVA Department of Biomedical Engineering and Charlottesville Women in Tech. The week-long experience provides an opportunity for high school students to learn from guest speakers, do hands-on activities, and complete biomedical engineering-inspired design challenges.
This was our 8th iteration of the program and as always it was an amazing and unique experience. The uniqueness mostly comes from the variety of participants who bring their knowledge, passion, creativity, and curiosity to the experience. This year we had 9 young women from 5 different high schools. There are also other factors that make each year different - the guest speakers, the lab tours, the hands-on activities, and the design challenges. Last year, the big difference was taking the program online due to COVID. This year we came back in person in a bit of a scaled back version, but we packed a lot into 4 mornings!

Read more.

Notes from the field


Albemarle High School's SWENext hosted their virtual hackathon in May. EcoHacks was open to a variety of skill levels and was created to be beginner friendly. Through a variety of interactive workshops from game design to HTML to the basics of Python, participants ranging from 13 to 17 years old from local schools were able to explore coding. For many participants, EcoHacks was their introduction to coding and the start of their computer science journey!

Submitted by Tess
 

Activities & Events

 

Live & Local

  • August 28 at 10:00am - Robot Design with Sarah & Kim is part of the Tech-Girls Online Middle school Workshop Series. Participants will explore robotics past, present & future! Registration is free, but space is limited.
  • September 19-December 23  - KidsCollege@PVCC After-School Academies offers online programming Monday/Wednesday and Tuesday/Thursday and in-person Saturday mornings for 3rd-12th Graders. More info.
  • Tech-Girls - Create a New Story! What's it like to work in tech? Find out from folks working in tech right here in Charlottesville. Tech-Girls is excited to launch Create a New Story in collaboration with Charlottesville Women in Tech, Charlottesville Business Innovation Council and Spark CS from St. Anne's-Belfield School to help you create your story in tech!
  • C4K - combines mentoring and technology to prepare youth for brighter futures. Participation is free and open to all students in 6th-12th grades who are eligible for free or reduced lunches at school.
  • STEAM Discovery Academy - find after school programming and summer programming (for a fee).

Virtual & Global

  • September 1 (applications open) - NCWIT Award for Aspirations in Computing applications will open soon for young women in grades 9 through 12. If you have an interest in computing, this is an awesome way to get recognized, get a scholarship and get connected with other women who have a passion for tech.
  • November 1 (deadline) - Congressional App Challenge is open to middle and high school students as individuals or up to a team of four. More info.
  • Black Girls Code - find workshops, coding clubs, and hackathons happening around the country.
  • Girls Who Code - find clubs, summer immersion and code at home activities.
  • The Connectory - find an opportunity near you to connect your child to STEM learning.
  • TechGirlz Virtual Workshops - find free CS workshops for girls in middle school.

Get Involved!


Tech-Girls is a program from Charlottesville Women in Tech, a non-profit in Charlottesville, VA. The mission of Tech-Girls is to empower girls to imagine and achieve their future dreams in our tech-savvy world. You can help inspire the next generation of women in tech by becoming a volunteer. You do not need to be a tech expert to be involved. Come learn with the girls!
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2021 Tech-Girls, This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License
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