Who is Isabel Sieh?
Isabel Sieh is a 14-year-old young Filipino Programmer who learned how to code at the age of 10. Isabel is a self-taught programmer, she used free online courses at Code Academy to hone her skills as a programmer.
As the world venture into the digital world today, computer programming has become the new norm. It is the process of specific computations, usually by designing and writing executable computer programs. This process was mastered by young Filipina Isabel Sieh.
Her love for coding was discovered by one of her teachers. He noticed that Isabel excelled in math, therefore, told her that she should try to learn how to code. When she started to learn she wanted to make a club for coding.
However, young Filipino programmers aren’t a common thing in the Philippines. It was not easy building her club. On the third attempt, a teacher helped her, she manage to have fifteen girls sign up for her club. This was the start of Isabel’s journey as a young entrepreneur in the Philippines.
Girls will Code
According to their website ‘Girls Will Code’ is a community that encourages girls to participate in activities related to coding, programming, robotics, and engineering. Through this platform, girls can share ideas about their projects, and promote interest in programming and robotics in a fun learning environment.
The inspiration for Girls Will Code is that most of the coding clubs for girls were in America, Isabel Sieh said. Coding in the Philippines is not exactly taught to ten-year-old kids. Filipino programmers are not exactly rare, but young Filipino programmers are, that is a site to see.
Developing Girls Will Code
At the age of twelve, Isabel Sieh taught coding at a public school in Antipolo. During this time she had a hard time teaching the girls because of the lack of equipment. However, this did not stop her. As a matter o fact, it helped her develop her offline coding kits.
“Coding is what powers technology today, and is what will power technology in the future.” the young Filipino programmer said.
From teaching a single public school Isabel Sieh taught a handful of schools later on. Last 2016 she was invited to talk at the Rappler Social Good Summit 2016. In the same year, she was also invited to the 4th Python Conference alongside another young Filipino programmer Austin Imperial.
After that, doors opened to this young programmer with invites from several companies including one from the Google Developers Group in the Philippines. An invitation was sent to her to talk at a Google coding event in the office of Google in the Philippines and was also asked to visit the offices of the said company in California.
Numerous companies are also eager to help Isabel Sieh with her goals. One of them is Accenture, a global professional services company with big digital, cloud, and security capabilities.
“Accenture just organized and hosted an amazing Girls Will Code event that exposed over 40 girls to code, and other companies offer to buy our offline kits to teach those without access to computers,” Isabel Sieh says.
Balancing school and work
At such a young age Isabel has accomplished so much and she has more doors to open. While being a full-time CEO of the Girls Will Code organization she has to keep up with her studies.
“Sometimes I would have to skip classes, and it was just a huge hassle,” Isabel says. “We are working with Google and Accenture to train girls 10-16 to be Ambassadors for Girls Will Code, so they can help build a community, rather than piling all the teaching on myself.”
Even though it is hard and there’s a significant amount of pressure put on her young shoulders. Isabel says the best part of it all is the results. “It’s an amazing feeling when you see how much a girl has learned or how they have been inspired,” she says.
Although Isabel Sieh was not intimidated by the thought of competing against seasoned programmers, she was fueled by the desire and passion to create something new. Isabel has proven that she is resilient, hard-working, and can resolve any problems or issues in her way. Her determination to succeed pushed her to improve both herself and her coding skills.
The programming journey of Isabel Sieh only proves that young Filipinos have the potential in venturing into the digital world. Their skills and talents will flourish more with proper guidance and support. It is not only the opportunities that paved the way for Isabel’s success but her hard work, dedication, and persistence in programming take her to different doors of possibilities to open for her.
Young Filipinos like Isabel prove the value of the digital divide. Opportunities and possibilities abound in the digital world. It is not just the older generation that can tap into it; younger people also have just as much, if not more, potential to make a name for themselves in this modern world. No one is left out and opportunities are ripe for the plucking – it only takes initiative to do so.
Opportunities know no age and it is never too early or too late to start your career.
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