By Teens for Teens: How Empowered By Code is Fostering Tech Literacy

Each week, Bright Mosaics interviews organizations, start-ups and trailblazers to gain an insight into their fields and how they are bringing upon tangible change.

This week we are shedding a light on “Empowered By Code” —a teen led non-profit organization aims to introduce teens to a world of coding. They aim to guide students through coding lessons and even provide insights into job interviews. They wish to support teens through every facet of their coding journey.

We talked to Susanna Yeung who is the founder of “Empowered By Code” which kicked launched in the summer of 2023. Being born and raised in Canada where she is currently a rising junior in high school, Susanna’s coding passion was fuelled after being a recent graduate at Girls Who Code SPP where she became certified in web development and cybersecurity. By combining her coding knowledge, artistic abilities and interest in STEM, Susanna hopes to make a difference in student’s lives with code.

What inspired you to start this passion project focused on promoting free coding for teens?

I first looked into coding during the quarantine (2020). While I did learn some important languages, there were a lot of limitations due to the fact that most resources online require payment. Obviously as a teen, paying hundreds of dollars for a subscription isn’t ideal. Fortunately, I was able to find other resources from my mentors/networks. I had the honour to join Girls Who Code on their self pace summer program where I learned about cybersecurity, web development and much more. During this program, I realized that there are a plethora of underrepresented communities that don’t have the opportunity to learn about code. Hence, why I wanted to make an account to spread the word of free programs to sign up for, websites, facts of coding/STEM, career ideas and much more. With this project, I hope I can persuade someone to try code.

What strategies would you employ to make your coding program engaging and accessible to teens with varying levels of prior experience?

Some of my main strategies I plan to use are:

-Making posts visually engaging on social media: for my audience to be interested in coding, my content can’t be bland to read. I’m hoping to abbreviate some vocabulary to a simpler context especially to new learners.

-Hearing from my audience: this is a page dedicated to coders and I want to know what they want to see. Making content and finding resources tailored to them is important because I want them to be engaged.

-Finding resources/programs that are user friendly (ex: available to most devices, different skill level, etc)

-Sharing my progress along the way: I’m still a learner regardless of how long I’ve coded. Coding can be mentally exhausting especially when it doesn’t go your way. By sharing my trials and errors I hope this can restore people’s motivation and let other’s know that it’s okay to fail. Failing is a part of learning.

How will you measure the effectiveness and success of your initiative in terms of promoting coding education among teenagers?

Success can be measured in many ways like followings, growth of the account per month, partnerships, etc. For EBC, success in terms of promoting coding education is when teens take part of whatever programs I promote as well as hearing their feedback on how they enjoyed the resources and what they plan to do with this skill.

How do you envision the long-term sustainability of your project, especially in terms of resources, support, and ongoing development?

Best case scenario, I expect this account to last for a decade or so. To keep content fresh it’s important for me to continue to network with other organizations and important figures in the STEM and coding community. Hopefully in the future, I can partner with other organizations similar to my mission project. Having moral support is essential to keep this project alive and to provide motivation. This support comes from other organizations similar to EBC and the audience too. Without them this account wouldn’t be possible.

In your opinion, how important is it for young people to have access to coding education, regardless of their background or future career aspirations?

I think it’s crucial for all teens regardless of background, lifestyle, and gender. Coding opens up so many doors regardless of career. Some things I find important with code are the soft skills you’ll learn that are essential to any work environment. This includes problem solving, independence, creativity, GRIT and much more. If any of these soft skills need some enhancement coding is the way to go. Besides that, it’s great to have additional skill coding skills on your resume and is a great backup plan if you ever change careers.

What advice would you give to other students who are inspired to start their own passion projects aimed at making a positive difference in their communities?

I would first be a part of an organization similar to your project you want to create. Connect with those founders and ask for advice. People often become agitated when writing an email or asking a question to a mentor since they feel like they would be wasting their time. That is actually the complete opposite of what usually happens. People are more than happy to give advice. Just know what you want to get out of it when you’re asking. Secondly, create a plan. From how you want the colour pallet to look like, type of content and your motive, this can save you a lot of stress in the future. Thirdly, create some connections and network. If you have a program that you took part of, before starting your passion project, keep in touch via LinkedIn, email or social media. This will help you have a significant following when you first start. Lastly, just go for it. So many people are scared to start something like this because they don’t know the outcome. As long as you are passionate and happy with what you’re doing don’t worry about the uncertainty. Don’t do this because it looks good on resumes, do this because you love it.

Connect with Empowered By Code through their social media to stay current on their initiatives!

https://www.instagram.com/empowered.bycode/

Bright Mosaics hopes that getting to hear from the co-founders themselves enables them to connect with their audience and urge other aspiring trailblazers to forge their own path.