Name: Anne Cadman Graham

Age: 17

Always lived in Birmingham?: Yes

High School: Mountain Brook High School

What’s your favorite subject in school?: My favorite subject in school is English because I love to write. Even though most high schoolers dread research projects, I love learning about something new and finding an interesting way to present it.

What interests you about technology?: Technology interests me because it’s always changing. When working with technology you can guarantee that every day could be filled learning something new.

Do you plan to go to college? Where? What will you study?: I plan to go to college next year, but I am not certain where. Right now, my favorites are Northeastern, Wake Forest, and Auburn. Once there, I hope to follow the business track and try some different classes to see what interests me.

Tell us an interesting fact about yourself.: Even though I am from Birmingham, a lot of my family is from Massachusetts, and every summer of my life I’ve spent 2 months at a family lake house there. I love New England weather, and I hope to live in Boston one day.

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On Saturday August 8th, 40 girls between the ages of 10 and 17 gathered at Birmingham’s technology incubator, Innovation Depot, to learn more about computer science, video game programing using  Scratch, the importance of using logic when telling a robot to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and how Kathy Pham, part of the White House’s U.S. Digital Services group became a programmer in college and how she went from working at Google to the White House.

A volunteer assisting students

The Birmingham chapter of 100 Girls of Code was formed  in June and we quickly received emails from over 60 volunteers looking to help the organization achieve the goal of offering free web development and programming workshops to 100 girls, or more, a year, in the Birmingham region.

The August 8th event was the first one offered in Birmingham and was part of a national event, Girls Day of Code, which included simultaneous events in 7 states, as well as Ireland and Costa Rica.  The workshops were live-streamed via WebEx and the girls got to see other girls programming in cities and countries like Atlanta, Portland, and Costa Rica at the same time they were building their video games.

Students

The 20 volunteers that helped make the day a success work for local companies like CTS, BBVACompass, IBM,Leapfrog Systems, Malcovery Mspark,Regions, Viperline Solutions to name a few. One volunteer even drove from Huntsville to participate.  Not all the women who volunteered are developers, but all share one passion in common, inspiring girls to reach their full potential and show them how learning to program can expand their opportunities.

Our awesome volunteers!

All programs are led by female software developers to help show young girls what they can do if they are interested, and to raise awareness about the career opportunities in tech available to them when they get older.

Students learning from the instructor

ITAC Solutions provided computers for girls who did not have their own as well as sponsored the event, providing each girl with a t-shirt, a certificate and a workbook.

Students learning

The next workshop is planned for October 3rd and will be at the McWane Science Center. Our goal is to get at least 100 girls there for a full day (8 am -4 pm) workshop focused on video game development and web programming. Click here to register for the Oct. 3rd event!

Students receiving their certificates

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TechBirmingham will host a business networking event on April 13 at Regions Field in conjunction with the open series of the 2015 Barons baseball season. The event, Keep IT Local, provides tech-related businesses the opportunity to network with each other, increase their visibility, and meet with representatives from several large local corporations.

“Keep IT Local fulfills the promise of Birmingham’s tech community. We all want organic growth but need help connecting. TechBirmingham and events like Keep IT Local provides a vehicle for us to do just that,” said Carlo Romano, Vice President of Business Development at Isotope11.

“It’s important for Birmingham’s big companies to do business with smaller, local companies when possible.  Birmingham has tremendous talent, and the large companies can help make this pool deeper.  I applaud companies like Blue Cross/Blue Shield for seeking out local vendors to help address some of their IT needs,” said Glenn Kinstler, Relationship Manager at 2B Solutions.

Format:  Keep IT Local  is a half-day event, lasting approximately  6  hours (8:00 am – 2:00 pm) with the opportunity to network with local businesses big and small in an intimate, fun setting.

Event Location and date:  Regions Field, Monday April 13th 8:00-11:30 with baseball game to follow

Corporations committed to attending so far include: BCBS of Alabama, BBVACompass and MSpark

Benefits of Participating:

• Local IT Business Connections – This event provides the opportunity for local businesses to network with each other, increase their visibility, and meet with representatives from several large local corporations.
• Social Media Promotion – TechBirmingham will promote all participating companies on the Keep IT Local page of our website, as well as through TechBirmingham social media channels.
• Baseball! – Attendees can stay for the baseball game between the Barons and Mobile BayBears in a suite and covered patio. Refreshments provided during the game.

DAY OF DETAILS:

8:00-8:40- Check in and breakfast

8:45- Program starts

9:00 – 10:30- Speed Networking

10:30- 11:30- Unstructured networking, follow-ups

11:30- Let’s Play Ball!

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

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