New Girls Who Code Club Enhances STEM Programming

By Teresa Messmore, Director of Communications

Tori Smith ’25 discovered an interest in computer science at Magnificat, and as she heads off to study the subject at Northeastern University, she leaves behind a legacy for likeminded Blue Streaks: the Girls Who Code Club.

Founded in 2012, Girls Who Code is a national nonprofit organization that supports extracurricular education in computer programming, robotics, and web design for teenage girls, who are less likely than their male counterparts to enter the technology sector. Smith came across the organization while researching ways to practice coding after taking a web design class during her sophomore year, and she approached her teacher, Lynn Taylor, with the idea of establishing a chapter of the club at Magnificat.

“It’s nice to have a small group that can meet after school and work through things together, so that you don’t feel alone or stuck when you’re just learning to code,” Smith said. “It can be really hard.”

Over the course of the winter and spring, students embarked on their first project to use Javascript to generate art, known as “creative coding.” They then branched off to work on their semesterly hackathon with the theme of female empowerment, building websites, collecting data, creating games, and researching ways technology can contribute to gender equity. Smith’s group, for example, built a website based on women’s health data that examined research disparities in medicine.

The club builds on recent momentum in the Magnificat’s Computer Science, Innovation, and Design Department. The number of Magnificat students taking computer science has increased 145% the past four years, with 49 students having taken introductory, AP, and independent study courses during the 2024-2025 school year.

“We’ve been doing a lot of hard work to offer our students new opportunities through our Computer Science Department and co-curriculars like the robotics team, the drone team, and now Girls Who Code,” Taylor said. “We have a lot of cool STEM programs that I think girls at other schools might not be encouraged as much to try.”

The Genesis career shadowing program and Magnificat’s alumnae network further support these efforts. Smith’s Genesis took her to New York, where she shadowed Marlee Stevenson ’11 at the Spotify music streaming service. She learned Python and data engineering concepts, attended several meetings at the World Trade Center, and helped with projects using Spotify data sets. The experience affirmed her interest in pursuing a career in computer and data science, and she credits Magnificat’s all-girls environment with helping make her more comfortable tackling STEM topics.

“It was kind of hard to speak up and find your voice,” she said of her time at a coeducational middle school, despite being a very strong math student. “Coming to Magnificat helped me explore more of my interests in math, science, and computer science. It’s definitely very supportive.”