Birate S.

Birate Sonia overcame her initial fear of computer science with the help of a supportive teacher. Seeing her teacher's compassion for her, and her desire to assist, made Sonia eager to also make a difference, particularly in the realm of technology. She was motivated to join Elevate Tech, an international organization dedicated to empowering women to pursue careers in computer science, and to form a Girls Who Code Club at her school. Her goal for starting the Girls Who Code Club was to provide a safe space for girls to enhance their coding skills and create an environment where participants would look forward to each meeting. Additionally, Sonia works at Code Ninjas as a coding instructor, and she is involved with Verizon Innovative Learning at a local middle school, where she mentors students who are learning about IT and coding. Sonia has also worked on a mental health chatbot. She aspires to use her tech skills to make sure the world has easy access to software that not only provides information on mental health but also provides services, or at least puts a smile on people’s faces. In the summer she will be working at CS DISCO as a Software Engineering Intern and in addition, she will attend the University of Virginia this fall, majoring in computer science.