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05/12/14 | Uncategorized

Know an Engineering Student? Send Her to Code Camp This Summer

Applications are open for Square’s Code Camp, a coding immersion program for female college students studying engineering.

By Betsy Mikel (Editor, Women 2.0)

Imagine you were a female college student studying computer science.

While everyone champions you changing the face of STEM and bringing more estrogen to the field, that doesn’t change the fact that so few of your classmates look like you — only 18 percent of computer science graduates are women.

While computer science may be your passion, you might choose a different route after graduation; Many other women do — only 12 percent of computing jobs in the U.S. are held by women.

Though we’re seeing positive changes across the board, women continue to be underrepresented in technical fields.

To not just inspire more women to enter these fields, but also give them the tools to do so, credit card processing company Square began organizing Code Camp. With separate programs for high school and college students, Code Camp teaches young women programming and offers mentorship sessions with Square’s inspiring women executives, including CFO Sarah Friar, Business Lead Françoise Brougher and Engineering Lead Alyssa Henry.

Code Camp 2014 from Square on Vimeo.

Code Camp teaches college attendees to build an ecoystem of applications and aims to inspire these young women to consider a future in engineering. For many participants, Code Camp is the first time they’ve sat in a room surrounded by female peers who have the same interests and skills as they do.

“There is something magical about being surrounded by 20 women with shared interests and diverse backgrounds, who are both humbly down to earth and unbelievably out of this world,” said past Code Camp attendee and Berkeley student, Shana Hu.

This year’s second four-day immersion Code Camp will take place August 13-16 in San Francisco. Full-time college students in the U.S. and Canada can apply to the program through Square’s website. Applicants must be 18 years or older and pursuing a degree in computer science, computer engineering or a related technical major. Twenty winners will be selected to participate. Their travel and lodging will be covered as part of the program.

How might your early career have been different if you’d gone to Code Camp?

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