ATLANTA (WFXG)—Schools have increasingly prioritized science and technology in their curriculum, especially over the last decade or so. And they’re especially looking to introduce girls to the subject, when they’re high school or even earlier.

“We knew that a lot of their friends were going to the pool, and hanging out and relaxing,” said Katrina Torres, a technology analyst and intern coordinator for State Farm. “But they were actually committed to showing up Monday through Friday for seven weeks and learning about technology.”

In 2017, State Farm started laying the groundwork for a new, but groundbreaking program, Girls Who Code. Torres is already starting to see the fruit.

“Seeing that transition from kind of a little interest to technology to full on, when I graduate high school, I know I want to pursue a degree in computer science,” said Torres.

Miski Abdirizak is one of their success stories. The program reaches all over to give kids opportunities who may not have been drawn that way on their own. She was one of the first to go through the 7-week long program, and now she’s ingrained on the inside.

“They actually make you embedded inside of the team overall,” said Abdirizak, a freshman at Georgia State University in Atlanta. “So, I work very closely with my team and I’m actually given projects on a regular basis, where this is something the actual State Farm employees would work on.”

Miski’s parents immigrated from Somalia, and built their lives from scratch in America. Her natural love for science, coupled with her parents’ own climb fueled her daily drive.

“I grew up with both of my parents working, and making their living, and that just inspired me, to be like, if my parents can do this after all of this, there’s no excuse for me to go out there and strive to be what I want,” said Abdirizak.

A self-described math nerd, Abdirizak always was drawn to the tech world.

“So I tried it out for like a semester, and then I got really into it, and my counselor saw I was really into this robotics program and doing this robotics stuff, and they said why don’t you try out coding,” said Abdirizak.

Fast forwards, and Abdirizak is already an integral intern for State Farm. And it’s not just this fall, she’s also signed up for the spring and summer.

“And for her to be able to compete with those other students and be competitive enough to an internship in our technology department was a huge deal,” said Torres.

Abdirizak will never forget what that Girls Who Code program did for her.

“Their primary focus was just making sure that I’m there to learn, and that I’m accepted and welcomed,” said Abdirizak. “And if this is not the thing for me, then it’s not the thing, but if it is, then I have now this whole network, this whole sisterhood of strong women who can help me get connected and help me succeed.

“Just having that inclusive environment, and that diverse environment to make me feel like I’m not an outlier, and that I got things based on my merit and I got things because I worked hard for them and that I had this strong support system to back me on it.”

State Farm was among the 4 percent of companies who kept their internships going this year. Next summer, they’ll continue to offer an online version of girls that code, which will allow them to have even more girls participate. To learn more, please click here. 

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