David Patrick, Office Apps and Service MVP, speaks of his experience at TechGirlz teaching young women about computers and computer-related technologies with his daughter, Sarah. David blogs about how TechGirlz aspires to encourage girls to explore their passions in technology and remain confident in their technical skills. The blog also details about the different workshops that cover many STEM activities: website building, game design, podcasts, etc. These activities have really inspired young women to continue their paths in STEM. The full article was originally published May 20, 2021 on Humans of IT – Microsoft Blog.
TechGirlz is an organization whose mission is to inspire girls to explore the possibilities of technology. My daughter Sarah has a geeky Dad (me) who always knew that she could do anything that she wanted to do. But Sarah and I realized that there are many girls out there that are interested in technology, but as they get older, lose confidence in their technology skills and thus lose interest in the technology field. We wanted to help these young women keep and build their confidence in using technology. We wanted them to be inspired to pursue their interest in technology and give them role models to look up to. By volunteering for TechGirlz, we have been able to help these young women with their journeys in tech.
The TechGirlz organization provides “TechShopz in a Box”, which are freely available STEM based activities that volunteers like my daughter and I use to run workshops for the girls. There are many workshops to choose from, building websites, podcasting, hardware exploration, game design and many more!
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We realized that these young ladies had no fear of technology once they were introduced to it and shown the many possibilities of what it can do. The toughest part was stopping these young ladies from continuing their work when the workshop ended. They wanted so badly to keep going!
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TechGirlz has been a very fulfilling program to run. Seeing the girls go from unsure to enthused really made us feel like we were doing something important.