The reason for the camp
Engineering pulled me in because of what it lets you do: understand how systems fit together, change them, and build something that works because you made it work. I want more people to have that relationship with technology. Specifically, I want girls to have it.
Women and girls are underrepresented in engineering and computing — not because of ability, but because of exposure, environment, and access. HERO Code Camp exists to widen that door — to inspire the next generation of female technologists and leaders in computer science.
Participants work across five tracks: Scratch, HTML and CSS, JavaScript, Python, and an introduction to AI. The goal is not to compress a semester of computer science into a weekend. It is to put something real in their hands — an animation, a webpage, a game, a working model — so the field stops feeling like someone else’s domain.
Wearing the necessary hats
The work has required more than instruction. I have served as lead organizer, marketer, recruiter, designer, moderator, teaching assistant, and technical support. The event has moved between in-person and virtual formats, which meant rethinking not just the tools but how participants stay engaged and supported.
What grew
Attendance tripled year over year across the first three years. That growth made the operational details more important: clear registration, approachable materials, reliable technical setup, and enough people in the room to help when someone gets stuck.
Why it continues
That gap does not close on its own. Every year there are more girls who haven’t yet been shown that coding is something they can do, not just observe.
What keeps me returning is that moment — when something works because you made it work. A participant debugging her first Python function or publishing an HTML page she built from scratch is having that moment. That is worth repeating.