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July 31, 2019Dignitaries Visit the AT&T and Capital Region STEM Hub All Girls Summer Coding Camp
Senator Neil D. Breslin and Assemblymember Patricia Fahy visited the AT&T and Capital Region STEM Hub All Girls Summer Coding Camp to address the young female participants on the importance of girls engaging in a science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education and career path.
The two week-long program held at the Capital South Campus Center in Albany for five hours a day is the region’s only all-girl coding program for middle school girls. In addition, members of the Capital Region STEM Hub and AT&T toured the program during which students and teachers demonstrated what the young women have learned during the experience and demoed their final proje
cts, which focused on curbing cyberbullying and promoting online safety through technology. Also in attendance to tour the coding program was AT&T New York President Amy Kramer, Albany City Schools Director of Curriculum and Instruction Karen Bechdol, Capital Region BOCES Senior Executive Officer Joseph P. Dragone, Ph.D., and Albany Can Code CEO Annmarie Lanesey.
AT&T and the Capital Region STEM Hub partnered to create and provide this opportunity for middle school students in the City School District of Albany, and the initiative grew out of both shared desired to encourage more women to enter the field of technology; an industry that is alarmingly male-dominant. The program provided rising 8th grade girls from the City School District of Albany an opportunity to gain STEM and computer coding skills and experiences and engage them to follow a STEM careers pathway. To eliminate economic barriers and to ensure the program is free, AT&T contributed $20,000 to cover all costs of the camp.
The AT&T and Capital Region STEM Hub All Girls Summer Coding Camp connected girls with coding projects designed to make a difference in their schools and in their community, while providing them hands-on experience in computer science literacy and developing their own technology. The program included communications and problem-solving skills, and featured guest speakers with professional women from STEM related companies. The girls also learn how technology and computer science can be used for good to create solutions to address issues impacting them, such as cyberbullying and being a good digital citizen.
By 2020, estimates show there will be 2.4 million unfilled STEM jobs with more than half made up of computer and coding careers, underscoring the importance of providing the youth the tools and skills necessary to compete in this innovation economy. The urgency for more STEM and computer science educated employees is accentuated by the low percentage of females who are currently employed at major technology firms (29%) and women pursuing bachelors’ degrees for computer science, just 18%. These alarming statistics emphasizes the importance of providing programing like the AT&T and the Capital Region STEM Hub All Girls Summer Coding Camp.
The camp was coordinated by Capital Region BOCES and the Center for Economic Growth, co-leaders of the Capital Region STEM Hub. Albany Can Code, the region’s leader in computer science training and developing K-12 coding experiences, headed up all instructions for the camp.
“AT&T is proud to collaborate with Capital Region STEM Hub, Albany Can Code, City School District of Albany and Capital Region BOCES to develop and support this innovative experience for girls, as it further enhances our commitment to providing resources for STEM-related educational programming throughoutnd builds upon our vigorous efforts to bridge the gender gap in the technology industry,” said Amy Kramer, president, New York, AT&T. “I am so impressed by these remarkable girls and am excited to see their final projects on using technology to curb cyberbullying and promote online safety, critical issues AT&T is dedicated to addressing. It was also an honor to have Senator Breslin and Assemblymember Fahy tour the program and for providing motivational remarks to the impressive female participants.”
“The first-ever All-Girls Middle School Summer Coding Camp for Albany students is an exciting pathway to success for our youth. The need for STEM professionals is an opportunity to uplift our girls and boost the economy of the Capital Region,” said Senator Breslin. I applaud AT&T, the Capital Region STEM Hub, Albany Can Code and the City School District of Albany for their work in providing this valuable programming whose benefits are innumerable.”
“STEM education and computer coding programming like the AT&T and Capital Region STEM Hub All Girls Summer Coding Camp has the ability to put young women on a trajectory for success in an economy increasingly defined by careers in technology,” said Assemblymember Patricia Fahy. “I am thankful for the dynamic partners involved in creating and hosting this innovative program for Albany public school girls and encouraging them to follow a STEM education and career path. I’m proud of these students for taking the initiative to advance their education this summer, while addressing important digital issues associated with cyberbullying and online safety
“We thank AT&T for their continued commitment to STEM education in providing resources to support the Capital Region STEM HUB and this new and exciting summer experience for young women who are interested in preparing for future Science, Technology, Engineering and Math careers,” said Joseph P. Dragone, Ph.D., Senior Executive Officer at Capital Region BOCES.
“The Center for Economic Growth is honored to be co-leading the Capital Region STEM Hub and working with AT&T to bring together young women in the City of Albany who are interested in learning more about STEM education and careers,” said Andrew Kennedy, President and CEO, The Center for Economic Growth.
“We are thrilled to be leading the first group of young women from the Albany Schools through this new summer coding experience,” said Annmarie Lanesey, Founder and CEO of Albany Can Code. “Albany Can Code is committed to creating a vibrant, inclusive, talent-fueled tech sector in the Capital Region, and it is exciting to work with partners who share this vision.”
“This is an outstanding opportunity for our rising 8th grade young ladies,” said Kaweeda G. Adams, Superintendent of Schools, City School District of Albany. “We appreciate the efforts of STEM Hub’s leadership and AT&T as they work to level the playing field and create equitable opportunities through a robust learning environment designed to enhance the knowledge, attitudes and skills of our students.”
AT&T’s support for this program is part of the company’s legacy of supporting educational programs focused on STEM disciplines in New York through AT&T Aspire, the company’s signature $500 million philanthropic initiative that drives innovation in education by bringing diverse resources to bear on the issue including funding, technology, programing, employee volunteerism and mentoring. Aspire is one of the nation’s largest corporate commitments focused on school success and workforce readiness by creating new learning environments and educational delivery systems to help students succeed and prepare them to take on 21st century careers.
AT&T and Capital Region STEM Hub All Girls Summer Coding Camp is also part of Believe New York℠, an extension of AT&T Believes℠, a larger company-wide initiative, which aims to create positive change in local communities.
