SmartGurlz Coding Workshop – Black Girls Code NYC
Kadeesha Cox – SpringBoard Incubators Inc.,
Saturday, April 8th, 2017 – 10am – 4pm
As I walked through the Google building, I wasn’t sure what to expect in regard to the activities taking place for the day. Yet as we reached the Black Girls Code Office, I was immediately greeted with an eye-catching, yet comfortable atmosphere. After signing in, we had an introductory meeting with the CEO and co-founder of SmartGurlz, Mrs. Sharmi Albrechtsen and we were able to get some information on the background of SmartGurlz and the Siggy robot. She then prepared us for the day by equipping each volunteer with an iPad and a Siggy doll of color and split the girls into about 6 groups as group leaders. When the female participants, ages 7-12 arrived, they had some trouble mingling at first, as most young girls do, but after being placed in their groups according to age and getting a siggy in front of them, they quickly changed what was once a quiet, separated room.