Life after TechGirls
By Asar, Palestinian Territories, TechGirl 2016
My LetGirlsLearn Experience
by Karima, Morocco, TG2015
I participated in two exchange programs: TechGirls and LetGirlsLearn and I will say something I’ve always been saying and always will: Exchange programs are golden opportunities; most of the things I learned were from these programs, and for that I‘ll always be grateful.
LetGirlsLearn is a United States government initiative to ensure adolescent girls get the education they deserve. In this program, 22 Moroccan girls and 22 Liberian girls got the chance to travel to the United States of America and visit the former First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama, in the White House.
Being part of something like this is so important to me and it is considered one the amazing things that has ever happened to me because during this program, I met amazing people like Mrs Obama, the beautiful actresses Meryl Streep and Frieda Pinto, and the talented CNN journalist Isha Sesay. I met 44 beautiful and strong young girls who overcame many obstacles and fought so hard to get the education which is rightfully theirs. I heard their stories, I shared my story with them and I learned that perseverance and resilience are two major elements to be successful and conquer anything.
I love this program because it made me realize something very important which is that girls are still struggling to get education, still working or getting married at an early age instead of sitting in a classroom where they belong. Therefore, looking at myself and what I’ve accomplished so far, everything would mean nothing if I did not use what I have to help other girls around the world.
This program was an amazing opportunity that taught me a lot of things and broadened my way of thinking and seeing things; it made me believe that if you work so hard for something, you will succeed. Something Michelle Obama said, “There is no magical dust, it just takes hard work” will always stick with me.
In addition, I want to say something for all the students, the young, the ambitious, the future leaders: if you want to see the world differently, open your eyes on many cultures and gain so much knowledge, EXCHANGE PROGRAMS is the answer.
The need for women in tech and my follow on project.
by Ibtihal, Morocco, TechGirl 2016
National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) is seeking those interested in sharing their STEM stories to let others know a future based in science, technology, engineering or math is an incredible—and attainable—career path.
a) Tweet your STEM story in 130 characters using the #BlackSTEMLikeMe hashtag b) Post your STEM story to the NSBE Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/NSBE1975/ using the #BlackSTEMLikeMeHashtag c) Post your STEM photo to your Instagram account and tag @NSBE https://www.instagram.com/nsbe/ on photo using the #BlackSTEMLikeMe hashtag d) Interested in blogging? Send your blog post to danielle@daniellericksproductions along with a photo. Once approved it will be uploaded to the microsite
Timeline: campaign is running through mid-March HOWEVER vetting participates for the national campaign consideration until the end of January.
girls
This #GivingTuesday, support TechGirls 2017. Any gift is appreciated.
What a woman presidential candidate means for me.
Recently, a woman had almost become President of the United States. I am both grateful and honored to be alive at a time when a woman has been on the ballot for presidency. There were times in history in which strong and powerful women had impacted many people during their rule, such as Queen Elizabeth I, Cleopatra, and Catherine the Great. Such occurrences weren’t common and in most cases their power wasn’t directly granted to them because of their gender. However, it amazes me to see how their skillful leadership skills and sacrifices had still shone through and have made them so influential. When I first heard that Hillary Clinton was running for presidency, I don’t remember being significantly shocked at the announcement. At the time, I didn’t understand the systematic inequality women faced in our history and that many women still face today. I didn’t understand the patriarchal system we are currently combating. I didn’t understand how important of a triumph it was in women’s progress within our society. Now, as a growing female intellectual, I finally do understand. I see in the news of people waiting in line to visit Susan B. Anthony’s grave and am reminded by how powerful it is that we were able to purposefully choose a woman candidate as our president. Being reminded back to what activists had fought for during the women’s suffrage movement makes this year’s election even more memorable. Knowing how hard many women before us had diligently and bravely challenged the inequality we faced then for a simple right to vote shows us how far we’ve come. Even though she didn’t win, I am still encouraged for what lies ahead in the future for women. There are still many battles to be fought for gender equality. This motivates me to become even more hard-working in my studies and work ethics. I know now why it is so important to encourage and expose as much women as we can into the STEM fields so that they know of the vast opportunities that can be made in them. Now, more so than ever, I will continue to be strong and motivate others to see how powerful they can be as well.
--Alexandria, USA, TechGirl 2016
“[It was] the end of the program, but the beginning of a new path of life, more confident and strong, now, with all the support that I got, I feel like I am ready to be the change that I have always wanted to be!”
--Lydia, Algeria, TechGirl 2016
Cracking the Glass Ceiling
Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Seeing her name on the United States presidential ballot represents so much more than just diversity and equality: it’s a symbol of empowerment and opportunity for females everywhere. Less than a hundred years after women won the right to vote in the United States, there is a woman on the ballot as a major party candidate for the nation’s highest office.
Realizing this, we can tell the little girl that she can aspire to be whatever she wants, and that she can, in the words of Hillary herself, be “valuable and powerful and deserving of every chance and opportunity in the world”. We’re inspired to believe that someday there will be Madam Presidents – and that someday might be much sooner than we think.
We’ve come an excitingly long way since the days of fighting for suffrage, and although Hillary Rodham Clinton was not quite able to shatter the highest glass ceiling with this election, her name on the ballot has placed an irreparable crack in it which will only continue to grow through our voices and actions.
By Isabelle, USA, TechGirl 2016
My funniest moment
--Jana, Lebanon, TechGirl 2016
Presenting to friends, family, and the @usembassyalgiers about their #techgirls experiences.
thetechgirlsblog reblogged
TechGirl FeedBack
By : Zeineb Ouerghi
“Be The Change That You Wish To See In The World “ Ghandi
To start let me tell you what are the most important things I learnt from TechGirls program; Gratitude and Belief. That’s why I want to say how much I’m grateful for having the opportunity of being part of this amazing program and how much I believe that I earned it and I’m able to give back and share .
Maybe some of you heard or read about this before, maybe from the previous TechGirls experiences or maybe online or whatever. In general, TechGirls bring 27 girls from MENA (MIDDLE EAST NORTH AFRICA) region to USA where they explore a whole new world full of a totally different culture, new people… Its main purpose is to inspire those young ladies and motivate them to pursue careers in STEM field (SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY ENGINEERING MATHS)
I still remember the day we landed in the United States; I don’t remember being that excited before. Everything was dynamic and it just made me overwhelmed and more and more excited and I felt so thrilled for the experience to begin when actually everything has begun since we received that email from our embassies telling us that we are TechGirls 2016! So I mention here how honored I am about this, because between thousands of applications, I was selected to be a TechGirl 2016.
We went back to the American University when we finally met each other after almost a month and a half of being internet friends.
And right there the journey began, we spent our days there getting to know each other more, discussing issues and problems that we wanted to solve and looking for a way to make our community better. And somehow, through all of those discussions, we found ourselves. Yes, we discovered how serious some issues were and how much we wanted to make a change. In fact, “Everyone [is] a Changemaker” , at least that’s what we learnt in Ashoka during our visit there .
TechGirls’hidden lessons are way more important because they’re the key to every single activity that you ever decide to do ; planning for projects , improving leadership skills , trying to solve problems , seeking SMART goals , being responsible , taking the lead , working in groups , getting enough self-confidence , patience , .. That’s what we need in our daily life and TechGirls indirectly reminds you of them. That’s the potential that we really need in the future. And Mr. J.E Rash –the man who basically changed my life- made us believe in ourselves to make the change and most importantly be grateful.
As a TechGirl, I can tell that the program has never failed to impress me every single day. In fact, we enjoyed sightseeing in the middle of Washington which was one of the most beautiful places in the world. And we got to know the American Culture thanks to our visits to the Capitol and several memorials such as Lincoln’s Memorial, Martin Luther King’s Memorial …
One of the TechGirls’best experiences was iD Tech Camp, we learnt how to code and improved our skills in programming whether it was C++ or JAVA. Whether we coded or we played or we had pizza parties, we had a great time being there and it was such an amazing experience to witness teenagers and kids sharing the same interests as you do and willing to learn everything they could.
I talked about being a changemaker , but could someone be a changemaker without doing community service and volunteering ? of course not . That’s why; we headed towards Grand Oaks Assisted Living center and Martha’s Table to spread smiles all over the place. Behind all of this, we discovered the infinite benefits of volunteering and how our countries needed us devoting ourselves to help each other and make them better places for living. TechGirls made me believe that I’m capable of doing anything , that I can be the change that I seek in this world , that my dreams can come true .. It’s all about the moral support they give you and the self-confidence they provide..
From Echo&co to 18 F, and From Islamic Relief to Tech for Change, every TechGirl discovered a new world while her job shadow day and learnt a lot of new things whether it was related to STEM or to entrepreneurship and leadership.
And then we left Washington because Virginia was waiting for us.
Being only sixteen years old and getting to know how college lifestyle goes was really impressive. I ‘m grateful I had the opportunity to live such experience and be part of American University and Virginia Tech which both opened my eyes and brought my knowledge to a whole new level. The labs we visited, the lectures we attended, the classes we had and the people we met were motivating and really inspiring. Virginia Tech makes you fall in love with engineering and all its types and its labs encourages you to pursue a career in engineering. NO KIDDING!
The activities we took advantage of during TechGirls program have helped us develop important technological skills and enabled us to learn from American high-tech companies and entrepreneurs. And as we all know that US has the best tech companies all over the world and thankfully we were lucky enough to witness that advancement and actually be part of it as women.
What I liked about TechGirls program is that we didn’t stick to Tech only but we were exposed to the American Culture. Actually, American families opened wide their arms to welcome us in their homes to be part of their life even for a weekend. It was such a blast to live such experience. The experience of staying with a host family is unbelievable. It’s not only about spending a night with a different family but it’s about new people warmly welcoming you in their tiny nest and sharing their daily life with you. It’s a great experience because you have a close vision on their culture, their lifestyle, their traditions, their language.. And you see the whole world from a different perspective. It’s really incredible!
And one of the hardest parts of TechGirls was saying goodbye to people who came into your life for just a while and have become a big part of it. After almost a month of being away from home, we figured that we were home, that we were a big happy family. .. Being surrounded by people who share the same interest as you , support you , inspire you by their experiences made this program even more amazing and beyond incredible.After all the tears we shed at the end of the journey , we figured out something “It’s just the beginning!”. It is indeed.
To put it in a nutshell, TechGirls program helped me see the world from a very different perspective and it was a push to step aside from fear and doubt and start taking risks and trying to make a difference in this world, -even if it’s a small one- because trying is all that matters. And trust me step by step we’ll make our world a better place for us and for the future generations if you take the lead and the initiative to make the change.
Zeineb Ouerghi
13/09/2016
“TechGirls made me believe that I’m capable of doing anything, that I can be the change that I seek in this world, that my dreams can come true.”
Poem by Joumana
In our last day together, as a flying birds we sticked forever, however the bodies are thousands miles away, but hearts and minds are really the same road forever, with the warmth of hugging each other and gentle tears riding the way down our faces, we made sure that everything in between is lasting all the way, it was the time to say goodbye, but our hope convened us to say, that is just the beginning of our family’s being in one place.
--Joumana, Palestinian Territories, TechGirl 2016
thetechgirlsblog reblogged
Happy World Smile Day!
It’s a beautiful day to smile!
Check out a summary of the TechGirls TweetChat.
Stay tuned for information on our next one.
Check out a summary of our very successful TweetChat with Digital Sistas and TechGirl alumni.