Her Stem Space

Being placed into the class was a mistake, but it ended up being a happy accident. I already knew the teacher, as I had him for World History in sophomore year. The class, which I had second period, was next door to my first period class. I also knew some of my peers in the class already.

The real experience was the content. At first, I struggled both with my own lack of confidence and the language of computers in general. I was lucky to have a best friend who had taken the class the year before and who had a lot of faith in me. He reminded me that learning computer programming is like learning a language, and that there are always support systems out there, including him, to help. It took me a while, but I eventually started reaching out to my teacher and peers for help, and we built a circle of support in the class.

Despite the support, it wasn’t easy for me to secure a spot of confidence and leadership in the class. Almost all of the students in my class were white men. One boy in particular took it upon himself to speak before and over me during class, and didn’t take what I had to say seriously, but I didn’t give up.

Staying motivated is the key to making space for yourself in a class or field. By channeling my frustration from not being taken seriously as fuel and leaning on my support systems, I achieved the best grade in the class and earned a 5 on the exam. AP Computer Science Principles turned out to be a fantastic experience, and I would gladly do it all over again.