It started with a simple challenge: line up by birth month without speaking.
For our scholars from Roxboro Middle School in Cleveland Heights, that small prompt quickly turned into pointing, laughing, strategizing, and a few dramatic hand signals. No speaking – just problem-solving in real time.
This is how our scholars began their work with Girls Who Code.
Before they touched a laptop, they were thinking about how to organize information, recognize patterns, and work through a challenge together. Those same skills power computer science, and nearly every high-growth industry connected to it.
In the following sessions, our scholars developed an understanding of Python, a common programming language. Using Python, they animated a two-dimensional image called a “sprite” around the screen.
Thanks to Lubrizol’s sponsorship of this program, girls in our program were given crucial early exposure to a field where women are still underrepresented. Lubrizol volunteers, including ODA board member Jakell Wilson, not only worked alongside scholars but served as role models for future careers.
“I was thrilled to see these scholars explore everything coding has to offer.”
— Jakell Wilson, University Relations Manager, The Lubrizol Corporation and ODA Board Member
And the growth is already visible.
“I’ve watched our girls walk into the room unsure of what coding even means, and leave talking about algorithms like it’s second nature,” shared Dontavia Winston, Lead Program Coordinator. “They’re collaborating differently. They’re asking bigger questions. They’re realizing they can do this.”
Program Coordinator Na-Té Studivant sees the shift, too. “The biggest thing I’ve seen is confidence. They’re sharing ideas, testing things out, laughing when it doesn’t work, then fixing it. They’re not giving up so fast. That part makes me proud.”
We’re deeply grateful to The Lubrizol Corporation, board member Jakell Wilson, and the entire Lubrizol team for making this possible and showing up for our scholars.
