What is your story?
I am currently an Information Systems student at Pace University. I attended McKinley Technology High School in Washington, DC. Although, I took technology courses, I didn’t truly become interested until I had an internship at Microsoft during the summer before my senior year. During my senior year, I had a radio interview where I was asked “What is coding?” This helped me realize that a lot of people are not familiar with what coding is and what you can do with it. A few weeks later, I started writing the early reader children’s book Sasha Savvy Loves to Code.
The main character, Sasha, is a super smart, 10-year old, African-American girl, who lives in Washington, DC. Sasha decides to give a summer coding camp a chance. Sasha’s mom, a Software Developer, gives her a unique formula to help her remember how to code. Despite the formula, Sasha encounters challenges with getting her code to work on the first day of camp and gets frustrated. She must use problem solving skills to figure out what to do. This book is based on a lot of things I’ve experienced but through the eyes of a 10 year old. I wrote this book to inspire girls to pursue opportunities in STEM because I see first-hand how underrepresented women and girls are in this area.
How did you get to where you are? How did you accomplish this? What were your goals when approaching your current career?
Once I published my children’s book Sasha Savvy Loves to Code, I received worldwide recognition. I was featured in the Huffington Post, Black Enterprise, Blavity, and many others. Also, I was in the Disney Dream Big Princess campaign, and Google’s Made with Code and Snapchat campaign. All of these things, lead to me speaking to students across the country about the importance of STEM. The Governor of Arkansas, bought 900 copies of my book and flew me to Arkansas where I received The Traveler Award which is an honorary title.
I did not expect to have so many accomplishments coming from publishing the children’s book. My goal was to write the book, graduate college and work for a Fortune 500 company. Even though I am still working towards to these goals, a lot of doors have opened up for me to dream big! Hopefully, girls hearing from me, a young woman, who likes fashion and music just like most of them but also thinks coding is cool, will make an impact.
What obstacles did you overcome to get where you are today?
As an entrepreneur times get hard when you’re stuck in a rut of rejection. After Sasha Savvy Loves to Code was complete, I sent out query letters to agents to get help publishing my book. Unfortunately, none of them took my offer and it really discouraged me to move forward. However, my mom encouraged and supported me to self-publish and raise money through a Kickstarter campaign. Thousands of backers couldn’t wait to donate to the project and it gave me a great sense of hope and determination. In the end, I raised $17,602 in 45 days.
What is your advice for girls?
Surround yourself with people smarter than you. You should never be the smartest person in the room. This has helped me to look at aspiring women in all industries. It was important for me to develop a circle of people who I feel reflect those individuals. Anywhere I go, I try to learn more and absorb information from those around me.
Do you have a personal mantra/favorite quote?
“There are secret opportunities hidden inside every failure.”
by Sophia Amoruso
What does it mean to “Lead Unstoppable Life”?
It means to be the best you can be and never give up despite all of the challenges you may face. If you are passionate about something then nothing will get in the way of your vision. As an Information Systems major, I have faced a few challenges in my coding courses. Coding requires a lot of focus, studying, and practice. Although, I knew the basics in Java, it was still very difficult to learn. Sometimes, I considered giving up and changing my major. It is always important to have the 3 D’s: drive, determination and discipline.
