Microsoft Reno held their ninth annual DigiGirlz Camp this week at the University of Nevada, Reno.
Almost 100 girls are spending the next two days at the University to attend the camp. DigiGirlz teaches the young girls all about the multiple STEM careers they can get into. They will teach them coding, robotics and even cyber security and getting them ready for their college careers, "We want them to pursue careers like that. It is all a confidence thing and if we show them perspective and all the career options out there they can think 'hey this is something I can do'," says David Taylor with Microsoft Reno.Â
Microsoft Reno says STEM careers seem to have less women in the field and they hope this camp gets them more interested, especially with Reno becoming a tech hub, "Tesla, Apple has a data center here there will be more opportunities for people to have a career in technology here in Reno," says Microsoft Reno Senior Director, Carey Serfontein.
For these girls it is a chance for them to find out if getting a career in the STEM field is something they want to do and have a chance to talk about their own experiences in STEM. Such as Sara Sommer who is on the Robotics team at her school and wants to encourage more young girls like her to join, "I think it is cool to get more girls into robotics because it is really fun and not as stressful as people think it is," says Sommer.
For more information about DigiGirlz please visit:Â https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/diversity/programs/digigirlz/default.aspx
