In her words: Changing the conventional face of tech
By: Natalie Laurent, Girls Who Code Alumni
Growing up around computers and being fortunate enough to have access to one at an early age, I was in awe of the kinds of applications multimedia programs I’d had at my disposal. I prided myself in the creative endeavors I would refer to as “big projects” that were assisted by the computer. As a teenager beginning to navigate through and define my interests, I would marvel at the developments in the design of the product interfaces I regularly used. After noticing the organizational and hierarchical patterns spanning different digital products, I knew there had to be a science to how we were meant to interact and understand our computers, and I wanted to learn as much as I could about it. Thus, began my all but linear journey into the world of technology.
I didn’t know where my interests would fit, but I didn’t mind the challenge of finding out. My father, an engineer, and my mother, an educator, had always pushed me to develop my creativity as far as I could take it, so they were supportive when I expressed an interest in technology. I began looking for outlets to immerse myself in the culture, joining coding camps, online forums and courses, and even programming marathons. I challenged myself to try new and uncomfortable things within the overwhelmingly large field of technology and, in turn, it brought me experiences that I will take with me through the rest of my career as a woman in technology and as a human being. My love for design and human-computer interaction had prevailed and I have found a new journey to begin in the world of Web and User Experience Design, solving human-centered problems in technology and working with the interactions that take place between people and their products.
Being a black woman in technology means contributing to the ongoing movement to change the conventional face of tech. It means that despite decades worth of the significant contributions to technology’s advancement made by women, a woman constantly has to prove that her presence at the table is deserved just as much as a man’s, sometimes to no avail. It took me a while to come to terms with what choosing a career in the tech world would mean for me and how hard I would have to work, considering the politics of gender imbalance in the workforce. Despite the challenges that being a black woman in technology may pose, I have never wanted to be anyone else and I am determined to persist in this belief throughout my career, wherever it may lead me.
I wholeheartedly believe in the power of women, and moreover, the power and opinions of people across intersectional groups to determine how technology can and will adapt to the future we want to create. In my first efforts to learn programming, I felt like I needed a support group. I found Girls Who Code, a program that also believed in the power of girls to change the tech industry and adjust it to fit a more accurate representation of the people it serves. I was surrounded by a group of intelligent girls, some even younger than me, who I learned much from. I was happily surprised that this community existed when I’d first arrived. Walking into the weekly meetings, and receiving the weekly newsletters that hailed the successes of other clubs nation-wide, I felt like I was a part of something greater than just a coding club for girls. I have spent a long time trying to understand the world of tech-becoming a cultural butterfly in the process. Since then, I have only gained a deeper appreciation for groups like Girls Who Code who are making contributions to the next generation of technology spearheads and providing a platform to develop the interests of other girls like myself.
Natalie Laurent is an alumni of the Girls Who Code club at Southwest Regional Library in South Florida. She is currently studying Digital Media with a concentration in Web and Social Platforms at the University of Central Florida’s Nicholson School of Communication and Media.
