In her own words: An unbreakable sisterhood
By: Sargam Choudhury, a Girls Who Code Student
When I first stumbled upon the Girls Who Code Summer Immersion Program, known informally as SIP, I had no idea about the location I wanted to attend. There were so many locations in New York City that it was daunting. On a whim, I checked off the box for 28 W 23rd Street, not knowing that I had just signed up for one of the best summers of my life. Having had little to no exposure to tech and computer science prior to SIP, I had no idea what to expect when I headed towards Xandr on day one, but I can confidently say that my time at Xandr as a girl who codes has brought me nothing but unlimited opportunities, immeasurable fun, and a sisterhood like no other.
Xandr is known as one of the largest marketplaces for digital advertising in the world, with a platform that connects publishers, marketers, and consumers through online ads, but to the 20 girls attending SIP in their New York City office, it is so much more than that. To us, it is a place of creativity and freedom, of real education and experience, and of openness and laughter. Having been the first location to ever hold a SIP classroom, Xandr knows exactly how to welcome the girls who come into their office and make them feel at home. Every morning we enter Razzle on the fourth floor, ready to learn something new about the week’s topic, whether it’s Web Development or Robotics. Lunches are spent eating amazing food for part of the time and napping in the Wellness Room for the rest of the hour. Every Wednesday, we spend the entirety of an hour with our mentors, employees at Xandr who provide us with incredible insight every time we meet, and we never waste a single moment.
Girls Who Code offered us opportunities that allowed us to immerse ourselves fully into the universe that is computer science, without the monotony and innocuousness of a traditional classroom setting. However, this could not have been accomplished without the help of the instructors, also known to us as the Teaching Team, and the employees of Xandr. The instructors not only gave us priceless skills to use in the real world, but also true friendship and freedom to express ourselves to the fullest extent in the classroom. They taught us how to write a code that allows an LED light bulb to blink while attached to a robot, but they also helped us decide on outfits for a student-run Decade Day that took place on one random Friday and taught us how to play games like “Mafia”. The employees at Xandr treated us with unbounded kindness and allowed us to feel accepted in a place that initially felt too large and too much like the real world to a group of high schoolers, and they strived to show us how rewarding tech-related careers could be, both professionally and personally. They helped us unlock the confidence, bravery, and desire to lead that was already programmed into us and encouraged us to move forward and work towards our professional dreams with no hesitation and no questions asked.
The sisterhood that is found among the 20 girls in Razzle is truly unbreakable. I met people that made me feel at home, who I could be myself completely in front of, and quite honestly, who changed my life for the better. I know that these diligent, courageous young women that I have had the courtesy of spending my whole summer with will go on to accomplish great things and will continue to inspire their peers, like they did me. No amount of words can express the love and respect that I have for them.
Girls Who Code highlights five core values over the entirety of the Summer Immersion Program: Bravery, Leadership, Sisterhood, Quality, and Candor. Because of the opportunities that have been made available to me, the skill sets that I have acquired, and the solid, indestructible bonds that I have made, thanks to Girls Who Code and Xandr, I can quite honestly say that not only am I better coder, but a better human being.
Sargam Choudhury is a Girls Who Code student in Girls Who Code Summer Immersion Program hosted by Xandr in 2019.
