Written By: Abigail Johnson in Issue No. 4
Making waves in computations is the young and successful Avye from the United Kingdom, who is currently teaching others about computer science. At only 12 years old, Avye leads her community by running workshops that teach girls how to code. She created a program, Girls Into Coding, dedicated to giving girls between the ages of 10 and 14 the opportunity to learn more about the world of computing and STEM. Avye’s ultimate mission is to bring more girls into coding and to inspire them to pursue STEM careers.
Avye’s journey began when she was just seven years old when she attended her first local coding event. However, she quickly realized that one thing was missing as she looked around the room.
“I noticed that the majority of people were boys,” she told Reinvented. “So that kind of gave me the idea to set up an organization.”
Avye became more involved with community computing events and eventually began to host them herself, hoping to inspire more girls to code. With the help of Wimbletech, an organization that works to help startup businesses and groups, she was able to hold her first event for Girl Into Coding in July of 2018.
Inspired by the women who have accomplished great feats in the STEM community, Avye wanted to help share her love of coding with those who want to learn more about it. Her workshops help encourage other future coders, teaching them that anybody, no matter what age or gender, can learn how to code and apply their skills to the real-world. Avye also works to give her attendees role models in STEM. “At my events, I have speakers, and those speakers are people who I am inspired by,” she explains. “An example would be Anne-Marie Imafidon, who is the lead of STEMettes, which is quite a big organization to do with getting girls involved with STEM.”
Since founding Girls Into Coding, Avye has already hosted six workshops, which are focused on integrating coding into robotics. She designs the robots prior to the event with other mentors who run different activities during the workshop. The students are taught to code small robots with remote-controlled wheels, and they are each given a take-home tech kit so they can continue working even after the workshop ends.
Outside of running her workshops, Avye also has a passion for robotics. In 2018, she competed in Coolest Projects UK, a contest where young innovators can display their projects and teach others about their work. Avye’s project, a robot that she designed to obey voice commands, won first place in the hardware category of the contest and has been featured in numerous events ever since.
Following this achievement, Avye has won multiple titles in recognition of her work. Most recently, she was jointly awarded the FDM Everywoman in Technology Award. She was also the recipient of the Diana Award in July of 2019 in honor of Princess Diana, and she was one of twenty individuals to win the biennial Diana Legacy Award in November of that same year for her humanitarian work. She has been named one of the “most inspiring juniors” of 2018 by InspiringJuniors UK. However, Avye’s mission is to promote not her own success but that of other young individuals that share similar goals.
For all the girls out there looking to get into STEM, Avye encourages them to not be afraid of trying new things.“You don’t have to be perfect at it straight away. As long as you have that passion, and you have that mindset to accomplish something, you can do whatever you want.” Avye finds her work rewarding, as she helps others like herself overcome the challenges of being a young woman in STEM. “When I run a workshop, I think that sometimes it is a good thing that a girl can see another girl who is around the same age as them. So for me, that has never really been a problem at my age. I’ve never really felt intimidated by that.” She wants to see the number of girls and boys in the STEM industry become equal and uses that idea as a motive for her work. Avye is a true testament to how big dreams can be accomplished by anyone who puts their mind to it, regardless of gender or age!
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