Meet Emerald

Emerald is a 10th grade student from Georgia who loves gardening, baking, art, and STEM. She is looking forward to a bright future.

“I hope to get my bachelor's and master's degree in either software engineering or computer science or astrophysics, something in that area.

I also want to give back to my family. I want to be able to help support them as they supported me. To give my parents whatever they need in their old age.

I want to give back to my community, and have enough money to give back to charity. You should never forget where you came from and this is where I came from."

 

Emerald hopes to combine her love of art, painting and science together.

“At first, I didn't really think STEM and art would ever go together, but I saw a profile, on Instagram, of this young woman who made sounds come out of her painting. 

I thought that was really cool. I never thought something like that could happen with art, but it inspired me. That made me want to do something similar. You can connect to anything that you want to connect with."

Emerald has had the support she needs to keep her excited about coding and engineering.

"My sister, my entire family and my teachers, all of them, really supported me and encouraged me to go through with STEM, even when I was scared and when I felt like I shouldn't. My teacher continuously gives us opportunities to STEM programs that we can use to develop our skills. 

My family always encourages me and always makes sure that I go the extra mile to get where I want to go. They also introduce me to new opportunities like my sister who introduced me to Girls Who Code."

Emerald shares her advice to adults looking to support more young women in STEM.
“Have a listening ear to what young girls are saying and encourage them to go for it, no matter how silly their thinking is, believe in them. They can do it, as long as they put their mind to it.”

Emerald started coding in her elective course, but it was in afterschool that she found her community.

“My sister introduced me to Girls Who Code and it helped connect me to girls who I really enjoyed. These girls who gave me a community that I could talk and relate to. It was just men and boys who were in coding classes, so it also inspired me to continue pursuing STEM even as a woman. Girls Who Code gave me a whole community of girls that I could always lean on to support me whenever I feel like I couldn't support myself."

 
 

“I think that it's important for us to create a safe space for young women in STEM and a space where everybody is accepted equally, regardless of who they are or where they come from. 

STEM means a lot to everybody and is an important part of all of our lives. So, creating that safe space for people like us - girls - to be able to flourish, would be really good for all of us.”