In 2017, Ford STEAM Experience began
a collaboration with my organization Kode With Klossy.
The reason why I started Kode With Klossy
and the reason why I want to keep
working with Ford as a partner
is to create new opportunities for
these young women to learn how to code,
and to become leaders in this space.
But what I really want our girls to know
is that the classroom is just the beginning.
I brought a group of my Kode With Klossy scholars
to Ford's Corktown factory in Detroit, Michigan,
to give them a field trip they will never forget.
[cheering]
Hi, you guys!
I'm so happy to have you all here.
We're so happy to be here.
I'm so happy you're here!
We met Karlie, which was just a dream come true.
I liked meeting Karlie Kloss.
I've never met her and in the camp
I was just on FaceTime with her.
Guys, we're gonna have so much fun today.
We're really happy to have you all here.
We're excited for your day.
Lots of cool things planned.
We really wanted to introduce them to a variety of ways
they can apply the coding that they're learning.
So Ford put on these different challenges.
We did this robotics challenge which was really fun.
We made them move different distances and
when they sensed objects in their way,
we taught them how to move out of the way.
We could, you know, record our own voices
and have it say some fun, silly things.
That was close!
[laughter]
Wait is that your same voice?
That's so cool!
They got a taste for how it is
to program the SYNC system in the vehicles.
We had to make an app that you could
choose your favorite contacts
and then put that into your car's interface
so you didn't have to use your phone
when you're driving.
So we were learning a lot of new things
while trying to solve a problem,
but it came together really nicely in the end.
We then taught them about AR and VR
and how we're using and implementing that in our car.
We put on the VR headsets and we
were under the sea looking at manatees.
Okay, we're getting close, huh?
If I was like actually scuba diving
I'd be really freaked out by this.
Oh, hey.
[laughter]
And then we went into a really special,
just kind of round-table conversation
with some of the amazing women
who work here at Ford.
You know, people tell you
if you have a foundation in math or sciences,
you have a logical mind and
you can kind of apply that across the board
and pretty much do anything.
Listening to the panel today,
all these women who had this idea as young girls:
I wanna be a computer scientist.
I wanna go into this field.
And then they made it happen,
and they didn't let anything stop them,
that was really inspiring.
So one day it just kind of hit me that I wanted to code,
I wanted to learn how to code, and I never looked back.
I think they really spoke of
strength and courage and just
really pursuing what you are passionate about,
and just focusing on what you love.
I, personally, selfishly feel like I had more
fun today than anyone else.
It's so special.
Every time I get to sit with the girls
and actually like hear what they're working on,
the hackathons they're doing,
and also just what they're passionate about.
We're building a community of young women
that are gonna be equipped to
build the future and build the future technologies
and be a part of creating that change.
What Kode With Klossy is doing is getting young girls
interested in technology and coding.
We have to start younger to
get the girls' confidence built.
Open their eyes to all that they can do
and find out there's girls just like themselves
that are interested in technology and coding and math.
I would say it's given me a lot more confidence.
Confidence to not be afraid of
what other people think of me.
And also, it's taught me that there
are other people out there like me
and I'm not alone.
Code is where your heart lies, just go for it.
So to all of you who have supported this collaboration
through Omaze,
through Ford, through Kode With Klossy,
thank you, guys, from the bottom of my heart.
Because of you, we can continue to nurture
future generations of diverse technical talent
by empowering girls to code.
Thank you again to my friends at Ford,
our Kode With Klossy scholars and you.
Yes, you.
Thank you for all your support.
Bye.