Isabel Maida ’23 recently won the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) Award for Aspirations in Computing. This award honors women, genderqueer, and non-binary students from ninth through twelfth grade for achievements and demonstrated passion for computing. As stated on the NCWIT website, the community “works to increase the meaningful and influential participation of all girls and women in computing.”
Regarding the application process, Maida said, “It taught me it is okay to talk about all of your achievements.” The application required her to discuss the difficulties of being a woman in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM). Maida notes that female-identifying individuals are often pressured to hide their success. “It is good to put yourself out there,” said Maida. Despite initial doubts about her own abilities, she is incredibly grateful to her mother for providing the encouragement necessary to convince her to send in her application.
Maida came to Choate from an all-girls school focused on computer science, and the different environment a co-ed school brought posed a tremendous change to how she viewed the STEM field. She felt that some male-identifying students weren’t as respectful and understanding of all of Maida’s capabilities. “I’ve been in classes where I am the only girl out of ten students,” Maida shared, shedding light on the fact that women are still the minority in Choate’s STEM classes. “I need to make sure I have that self-respect first, so people see I am on the same level as them.”
Despite the negativity, Maida continued to find encouragement and support in different areas. “He’s my biggest supporter,” said Maida, describing her brother. He cheers her on, pushes her closer to her dreams, and helps her achieve her goals through honesty and the close bond they share.
At Choate, Maida hopes to use her experience to create a safe environment for female-identifying students to learn how to code. This academic year, she started Girls Who Code, a club that aims to empower women in computer science and teach them the basics of coding. “I just want to get people interested. It is such a scary topic to those that have no idea what it is. Coding seems like just a foreign language, but it is actually really simplistic.” Maida hopes to encourage others and create a supportive environment that shows women that it is okay to make mistakes.
This award has opened many doors for Maida, including several internships and programs by aligning Maida with a network of influential people within the STEM field and introducing an environment that allows her to share her passion for computing with other like-minded girls.
