Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that Tan joined the club as a freshman, not a sophomore.
There are many interesting and fun extracurricular activities at Malden High School, but with so many choices, it can be hard for students to choose. However, interested in learning how to code? Malden High’s Girls Who Code club can teach you, and with new officers established at the start of this school year, there are many things to look forward to.
The club’s goal is to embrace empowerment and the welcoming of a sisterhood of girls in technology, a predominantly male field. Not only does this club teach various technology skills, but it is also an opportunity for girls to connect, open up about struggles within the technology field, and share ideas. The club’s officers are President Isabelle Tan, Vice President Danielle Harrington, Secretary Kelly Ye, Treasurer Avani Chhetri, Social Media Manager Namaicka Jeune, and their Advisor is Paul Marques.
The club offers a space for anyone wanting to relax, but for the most part, it’s intended for those who have an interest in coding. Members can also do Technovations, a competition where groups create and design an app to try to solve real-world problems, in order to help a community and pitch their ideas to judges. Tan mentioned that for those who need inspiration on what community problems they want to solve, the ‘UN Sustainable Development Goals’ is a good resource to utilize.
President Isabelle Tan joined the club when she was a sophomore and helped found the club, and in 2023, she became Vice President. Now, as President, Tan wants to be able to offer a comfortable environment where girls can learn to code and make mistakes. Last year, Tan recalled that there were a lot of planning issues, so she wants to learn from that and fix their preparations this year. “I think my role as president is to take our experience from last year and really like owning up to it.” Tan also explained that having a leadership position has been an incredible learning experience for her
Before joining freshman year, Harrington had always been interested in coding and technology; but when she was given the opportunity to become Vice President, she was honored to get an important role in the club she valued. With her position, she hopes to assist Tan as much as she can, as well as “be able to gauge more interest in Girls Who Code and act as an instructor for new students.”
Ye decided to run for secretary because she wanted to take action to help her community. She expressed that “I really resonated with the values Girls With Code had, and I wanted to help represent that and bring more women into this field.” As secretary, she plans on making attendance more mandatory and to prepare for competitions. “I’ll be keeping track of who does what, what needs to be done, and what kind of activities you guys do.”
For Chhetri, her main goal is to ensure that the club works together to prepare. However, she also hoped that they will “have enough funds” for when they “go to Technovation, in case we need to rent a bus or need supplies to make our poster board.” To raise money, Chhetri hinted at some of her plans, which include running bake sales and canning in local community spots.
Jeune’s ambition to become an officer stemmed from her interest in computer science. She described that being an officer “makes me have more commitment to it and for me to learn more about code. So I think it will make me more involved and take discipline into what I want to learn.” For newer members, her goal is to create resources and tutorials to simplify coding. As Advisor, Marques provides not only a meeting place for the club but also his technology skills he wants to ensure that members have an understanding of what they are doing while offering some of his own ideas. Marques affirmed that “commitment is very important” and encouraged members to stay after to finish their projects.
Every officer has their individual goals, but they also have ambitious goals as a club. They want to introduce girls to new opportunities and resources within the STEM field, prepare them for competitions, and make sure that they have sufficient knowledge in coding. Additionally, Chhetri stated that they hope “to move forward more than we did last year, because last year, we did our pitching video, but…we weren’t as prepared.” This year, she hopes that the club prioritizes preparation to ensure that meetings run as smoothly as possible.
“Girls Who Code looks to improve access to computer science education in young girls,” said Harrington. “Specifically, we do this by giving students the opportunity to create apps, present, and compete through an accessible interface.”
So, why join? By joining, students can learn more about coding, technology, and, most importantly, life skills. “You can use these skills not just in computer science, but other majors and other fields and in the future as well,” commented Chhetri. Marques mentioned that it is a “friendly and peaceful environment for just girls who are interested in coding.” Tan believed that Girls Who Code is a great start for girls who want to learn to code.
While there are no specific rules, such as the ones typically seen in a classroom, there are still expectations. According to Jeune, it is important that students are on time and open to teaching others as most of their projects are group-based. However, Harrington added, “we just hope that everyone tries their best and has fun!”
Anyone is welcome to join, no matter their experience with technology. Meetings are every Wednesday after school in Marques’ room at H403.
