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OpenHub Project’s first-ever Newburgh Girls Code Club (NGCC) Summer Intensive has wrapped up...and it was a great success. Our talented young group of future female and female-identifying or non-binary coders are one step closer to closing the gender gap and changing the world! We are so proud of our NGCC graduates, and so excited to see them soar! 

The NGCC Summer Immersive Experience

During the intense, two-week bootcamp, which was held in July, twelve girls aged 10-18 came together Mondays through Fridays from 9:30am to 1:30pm to make friends, learn coding and leadership skills, and explore their ability to identify issues they care about in their community… and design real solutions to address them through code! 

Through a blend of in-person and virtual activities, participants explored how coding and computer science can change the world. Supported by a sisterhood of peers and role models, each girl learned how to code and build websites with HTML, CSS and JavaScript, using the fun and collaborative coding platform Glitch. They designed interactive arts using JavaScript tutorials with VidCode, and they practiced problem solving and debugging...as well as hip-hop dancing!

The girls formed four teams, with each working to code and launch their very own team websites. You can find all four of their websites, as well as a gallery of photos and more information about their experience, at the NGCC Summer page...which the girls also created!

Throughout each of the eleven days of the experience, the girls practiced mindfulness and engaged in empowerment workshops, practiced stand ups, and showed up for each other. Most importantly, they learned to be brave, bold, and authentic while being supportive of each other.

Why a coding camp for girls?

Despite the highest level of female involvement with STEM, women and female-identifying or non-binary coders still trail men in STEM occupations, with lower representation than in other sectors, and a somewhat greater rate of unemployment. 

This new, immersive and innovative Girls Coding Club camp was designed to provide the necessary mentorship and growth experiences to help our students grow and develop computer science and digital literacy skills that will empower them to change the world. Most importantly, NGCC provides them with space to build community with one another, even outside of classroom hours. 

The strength of the Newburgh Girls Code Clubs is in its ability to connect and nurture communities of young people who are passionate about technology.  We couldn’t be more proud of this incredible group of girls. Their creativity, authenticity, and supportiveness is an inspiration to everyone at OpenHub. Congratulations, future coders!

For more information and to learn about future OpenHub programming, see our Calendar, or check our Course Cataloque and Bootcamps!

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Newburgh Girls Code Club was established through collaboration between OpenHub, Newburgh Free Library, Panja Culture,  and supported with grant from The Rowley Family Foundation Fund for Women and Children since 2019.