“I’m here to push her further, I’m here to help her be somebody,” said Dulce de la Cruz, the mother of Amy Marie Pinto, a sophomore in high school who designed an Android app called KnO My BOrO at the after-school program led by Startup Box: South Bronx. Amy comes from Hunts Point, a place where the sidewalks are covered in garbage and towered by abandoned buildings. But if you look around, the grim-covered brick transforms into murals bursting with color. The graffiti makes jaws drop, but soon those mouths begin to water from the aroma of homemade arroz con pollo, bistec encebollado, y maduros coming from Randall Restaurant around the corner.
It was in this neighborhood, that Lyel Resner, Majora Carter, and Jon Santiago co-founded Startup Box: South Bronx. Based off of the idea that “the walls between education, commerce, and community need to come down,” the founders are looking to reinvent an area of New York City that has a surplus of creative potential, but an extreme lack of access to opportunities in the startup ecosystem. The nonprofit offers “programs in technology, engineering, design, and entrepreneurship to local youth, delivers community outreach services, and provides support to local early-stage companies in order to connect the promise and excitement of the Tech industry with the extraordinary creativity of the South Bronx.”
It was at this nonprofit’s after-school program that Amy dove into the world of technology. When asked what inspired Amy to create Kno My BOrO, she explained, “I wanted to show people that there’s more than just garbage where I live. If you look around you’ll see the beauty, the different art…people trying to show other people what they’re really made of and who they really are.”
Amy first heard about the Startup Box: South Bronx’s after-school program when Lyel came to speak to a group of students at Fannie Lou Hamer Freedom High School. Lyel had been in contact with the school’s Assistant Principal, Jeff Palladino who was enthusiastic about the program and eager to have Lyel explain to the students the opportunities that the program could offer them. After a basic tech workshop with the students, so that they could get a better sense of what the program would be like, Jeff and Lyel realized Amy enjoyed video games. They suggested she give the program a try, and possibly get the chance to create her own video games.
Any student can fill out an application for the program, which just requires the students to write about why they’re interested in participating. The program is also free. When new students are admitted, Lyel asks the more experienced students to show the new students how to code. “It was at this point, when I saw Amy teaching the new students, that I really noticed how well Amy knew the material.”
Although Amy really enjoys coding and design–not to mention just created a portfolio of six apps within six months–she wasn’t completely interested from the get go. Amy noted that it wasn’t until the program’s visit to NYU’s Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP), where Amy got her hands on a video game in which the player can control what’s on the screen from a mobile device that she really became interested in coding and design. “ITP is NYU’s hidden gem…it’s also where Twitter and Foursquare were started,” said Lyel.
Amy said her favorite part of the after-school program is getting to visit places she’s never been to before, like Google’s Headquarters. Jeff explained how these trips have a significant impact on his students’ attitude towards careers in tech. “Students were able to visit these places where people code and design every day and think to themselves, ‘hey, I could get a job doing this one day and set a path for myself.’”
Although there are other students doing well in the program, Amy is one of the few girls who attend. When asked why she thought there weren’t as many girls interested in tech and science, Amy glanced around the room and shrugged. Then Amy’s mom brought up a good point. “I think some of us are really afraid to take chances, in a lot of things…but maybe if I see her trying something, I’ll think I could do it too.”
On Monday, Amy will present her app at WIM’s luncheon hosted by Bank of America, where she will get to meet other girls her age from the Middle East and North Africa who have excelled in a STEM field. WIM has brought together these participants from the State Department’s TechGirls program and Amy with over 50 women leaders in tech to ensure that these young women will not only think, but know they can do it too.
This post was created by Raine Dalton, WIM’s editorial and community innovation intern. Raine is passionate about finding creative ways to empower women globally through tech. In addition to WIM, Raine has written, tweeted, and posted for the Global Banking Alliance for Women, WITNESS, and 90.7 WFUV News. You can find her work at www.rainedalton.com or get in touch with her through Twitter @rainedalton, or by emailing raine@wim.co.