By SUMAYA ABDEL-MOTAGALY
In a ceremony filled with colorful balloons, loud cheers and proud parents, the DMV Black Girls Code (BGC) Summer Camp presented their certificate handout at the Capitol Technology University in Laurel on Friday, June 27.
BGC is a national nonprofit organization established in 2011 to help Black girls aged 10 to 18 develop an interest in computer science in order to increase the number of colored women in STEM. According to the BGC website, less than 2 percent of technology jobs are held by Black women.
Students participated in a week-long camp — in a partnership with Capitol Tech — where they learned the basis of coding and teamwork while exploring AI. They received certificates honoring their week-long participation in the summer camp.
“We want more women in STEM,” said William Butler, the vice president of cybersecurity outreach and partnerships at Capitol Tech. “We need programs like this.”
The summer camp held a strong emphasis on team-building. Students chose a social problem and worked to create a solution. They used AI, p5.js, a javascript library, to code an interactive AI-model.
“Women are not represented and there are a lot of decisions being made and we are not in the room,” said Jeannette Firpo, the regional program manager of BGC. “If we are not in the room [those decisions] are not in our favor.”
MJ Hubbat, one of the parents of the participants, signed her daughter up for the experience and knowledge the program would bring.
“Representaion is important in any area,” Hubbat, a DC resident said. “Any program that is available that is going to give [my daughter] the opportunity to see why representation matters is something I want her to be a part of.”
Speaking about the mission of the program, Firpo highlighted the need to create spaces of empowerment for girls.
“We want to empower, bring exposure and let our female identifying youth know that there is space for them,” said Firpo. “We are here to help facilitate that.”