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Tech-Girl Monthly:  January 2021

A Year in Review
Tech-Girls offers programming across the K-12 spectrum. The focus through all of the opportunities we offer girls in the community is to spark their interest in technology and computer science, build their confidence, nurture an inclusive community and help girls develop their own tech identity. There were definitely some challenges to fulfilling our mission in 2020, but there were also some memorable experiences to celebrate!

Before COVID-19 shut down in person events:
  • We hosted Girls' Geek Day sessions at Meriwether Lewis Elementary School and St. Anne's-Belfield School Learning Village. Both events drew 68 participants and 24 volunteers each.
  • We brought the #TechGirlsChallenge to the Virginia Discovery Museum’s Kid*Vention.
  • We hosted Tech-Girls hands-on workshops at C4K.
  • We were awarded a grant from the state of Virginia as part of a research-practice partnership (RPP) with Charlottesville City Schools, the University of Virginia, and C4K.
After the pandemic interrupted our daily lives, we got creative:
  • We held a Virtual Girls' Geek Day in May with volunteers recording videos to share their hands-on activity.
  • We took Bio-Med Tech-Girls online for a week in August and had more participation than ever! The program is a collaboration between the UVA Department of Biomedical Engineering (BME) and Charlottesville Women in Tech. This year the week was filled with guest speakers, hands-on activities and a design challenge focused on the Go Viral Project developed by Dr. Jeff Saucerman and Dr. Shayn Peirce-Cottler from UVA BME.
  • The Charlottesville Computer Science Community was recognized as a finalist for the CBIC's Partnership of the Year award.
  • Kim Wilkens, Tech-Girls founder, joined forces with Sarah FitzHenry to co-host the Once Upon a Tech podcast, where many inspiring girls and women in tech have been interviewed.
  • We launched Noelle's STEM Corner with activities to engage middle and high school girls in STEM-related learning at home.
  • We launched Create a New Story in collaboration with CBIC and SPARK! CS powered by St. Anne's-Belfield School, where students in middle and high school can get a behind-the-scenes look at the local tech scene in Charlottesville.

In the News

We are thankful to the following organizations for their support this year: AHS Robotics, Charlottesville Business Innovation Council (CBIC), C4K, Junior League of Charlottesville, STEAM Discovery Academy, SWENext: Albemarle High School, SWE at UVA, Grad SWE at UVA, Virginia Discovery Museum, WAHS Robotics, as well as UVA’s Gahlmann, Pierce-Cottler, and Saucerman Labs.

Spotlight: Tech-Girls Volunteers


Each month we spotlight a woman or girl in tech who inspires us. This month we are highlighting the amazing people who make awesome Tech-Girls experiences possible by offering their time as facilitators, role models, volunteers, mentors, advisors and supporters!
Many thanks to Courtney Beach, Caroline Bertrand, Katie Breaud, Lisel Bruscia, Jessa Campbell, David Chen, Elaine Cheng, Jennie Chiu, Courtney Christensen, Mukti Chowkwale, Anna Costine, IdaMae Craddock, Sydney Decleene, Kathryn Fish, Delaney Fisher, Sarah FitzHenry, Andreas Gahlmann, Raeann Giannattasio, Elena Gillis, Sruthi Gopinathan, Terry Graff, Tracey Greene, Gabrielle Gray, Erika Hadland, Carla Hallman, Sara Hankins, Karen Heathcock, Tom Herrick, Katie Hiatt, Susan Holland, Tricia Howell, Isabel Humphries, Eileen Krepkovich, Julie Leonard-Duke, Robin Lilly, Lily Lin, Jill Luoma-Overstreet, Sherry Martin, Maggie Mathieson, Michele Mathieson, Claire MacFarland, Shawna Metzger, Zach Minster, Hannah Moore, Ariel Monismith, Akanksha Nichrelay, Chloe Norris, Bridget Olson, Jessica Otey, Camellia Pastore, Anooska Pendyal, Shayn Peirce-Cottier, Melissa Phillips, Aditi Prakash, Karen Richardson, Nia Robinson, Noelle Robinson, Anna Rosner, Jeff Saurcerman, Brooke Savage, Viv Shields, Chloe Smith, Walter Smith, Kala Somerville, Maggie Sprigs, Beth Stefanik, Tasnuba Siddiqui, Rachel Smith, Sana Syed  Trae Turner, Destinee Wright, Steven Zeichner, Kathryn Zimnick, Faria Tuz Zahura and more who graciously gave their time and support in 2020 to help bridge the gender gap in tech in Charlottesville and beyond!

Noelle's STEM Corner: Civil Engineering


Happy New Year! My name is Noelle. I have participated and volunteered in Tech-Girls events for the past 6 years. Throughout the years I discovered sections of STEM, improved my teamwork skills, implemented design-thinking into my life, and so much more.

This month we are focusing on civil engineering. Engineering is an amazing field and similar to computer science there is a large gender gap between men and women. According to aauw.org,  28% of engineers are women. Click here or on the image below to learn more about civil engineering. Good fun!
 

Activities & Events

 

Live & Local

  • January 29 - The Emerson Engineering Panel is part of the virtual speaker panel series focused on facets of engineering careers and engineering school brought to you by Albemarle High School's SWENext chapter. More info.
  • February 20-21 - University Student Taught Engineering Program (USTEP) is a fun-filled, educational outreach program for middle school students in the Charlottesville community. The event will be hosted by the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) at UVA. Middle schoolers will be able to have a one of kind experience taking classes taught by passionate UVA Engineering students. More info and apply.
  • March 26-27 - Capital Region Celebration of Women in Computing Conference (CAPWIC) brings together students, faculty, and industry partners to engage with research and development in computing through discussion and community-building. 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 powered by STAB to help you create your story in tech!
  • Coming soon - We are working on a new online workshop series for middle school girls! The workshops will be led by experts in STEM and CS our community. Look for registration details coming in late January/early February. If you want to get on an early mailing list for the workshop series, please complete the Tech-Girls programming survey.
  • Computers4Kids 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. More info.
  • KidsCollege @ PVCC After School Academies. More info.
  • STEAM Discovery Academy has both in person and virtual programming. More info.

Virtual & Global

  • January 24 - Creative Coding Festival is a free and inclusive event for students and teachers to engage in creative coding. More info.
  • February 1 (deadline) - A Salute to Engineering Writing Contest hosted by Engineer Girl is open to elementary, middle and high school students. More info.
  • March 12 - Technovation Challenge Season Launch (deadline). Want to learn how to build a mobile app to solve a real-world problem in your community? Find some friends, create a team and enter the Technovation Challenge. More info.
  • Girls Who Code at Home Activities - free CS activities released weekly on Mondays.
  • The Connectory, find an opportunity near you to connect your child to STEM learning.
  • TechGirlz Virtual Workshops are open to girls in 6th-8th grade. All workshops are free and scheduled to run in Eastern Time.

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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