Student entrepreneur designs camps to help girls defy stereotypes
The digital economy continues to grow, adding jobs in software, cybersecurity, and cloud computing every day. Yet, only 25 percent of today’s coders are women. Emily Harburg, a Northwestern PhD student in Technology and Social Behavior, set out to narrow this gap and help girls change their stories about coding. Her research in the self-efficacy that comes from supportive learning environments made her optimistic about the opportunity for women to lead in tech, and her entrepreneurial spirit led her to bring her research to life. In 2015, Emily co-founded Brave Initiatives with Anna Bethune, a PhD student in Learning Sciences, and Jen Kamins. Brave Initiatives is a non-profit that offers free coding workshops to girls from primarily low-income communities. In weeklong camps, girls learn to build websites that address social issues they are passionate about – with topics that range from ending gun violence to bullying – all while becoming more confident about their abilities to shape their own stories and work in any field.
416+girls taught
$0cost to students
86%of girls continue to code
While forming the idea for Brave Initiatives, Harburg turned to Northwestern’s resources for entrepreneurs to bring it to fruition.
In May, Emily pitched at VentureCat, Northwestern’s annual student startup competition, which awards more than $100,000 to student ventures. Emily’s pitch won the social impact and non-profit category and earned her $5000.
VentureCat is a collaborative event at Northwestern, made possible through the efforts of The Farley Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, The Kellogg School of Management, the Donald Pritzker Entrepreneurship Law Center and The Garage.
Emily was welcomed by the entrepreneurial community at The Garage, Northwestern's hub for student entrepreneurship and innovation. There she networked with other entrepreneurs and attended workshops for building a successful startup.
The Garage brings together a cross-disciplinary community of students, faculty, staff and alumni who share a passion for entrepreneurship. The 11,000 square foot space is currently home to approximately 60 student-founded startups per quarter.
Northwestern encourages entrepreneurs, like Claire Lew, to turn their scholarship into impact. From healthcare to energy and the environment, see how our community is working to solve some of the world’s most pressing challenges.
Published: June 18, 2018. Updated: January 25, 2019.
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