Our day-to-day life is run by apps from social media to emails, but have you ever thought about the behind-the-scenes workings of creating an app? It takes a lot of coding and software development. Apple’s app store is currently home to two million apps that are visited by half a billion people weekly across all countries and regions. Not only does Apple house millions of apps, but they also work to ensure young people in STEM are able to learn about the creation of apps. This year, for their annual World Wide Developer Conference (WWDC), Apple virtually brought developers together giving them early access to the future of Apple’s software platforms and the opportunity to learn from Apple engineers as they work to build app experiences that enrich the lives of customers around the world.
As the country is facing a revolution and tied to murders of Black people by law enforcement, Apple’s conference initiative highlighted racial equity and social justice initiatives. Vice President of Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives, Lisa Jackson spoke on believing in the access that needs to be provided to everyone. “We believe in the power of education. Coding and the ability to access it [can] be transformational,” so Apple is “trying to bring it to as many places as possible,” Lisa said at the event. This initiative rings true through the young developers who are taking advantage of their programming.
From star students at the conference to young entrepreneurs in coding, Apple has provided a space for these young developers to succeed. For one star student, 19-year-old Sofia Ongele, coding instills confidence. “Even just learning to code in itself instills a lot of confidence because you're taught to fail over and over, which you’re not taught to do otherwise," Sofia tells Teen Vogue. "You’re supposed to be this pretty and respectful little girl who plays with Barbies and doesn’t break things. With coding, you do need to fail in order to succeed, that’s how you make the most groundbreaking discoveries and innovations within your code.”
Sofia is the founder and creator of the mobile app, ReDawn dedicated to connecting sexual assault survivors. As a Black woman in STEM, she is passionate about the diversity of people in coding that plays into serving every community through the digital age. “There is such great potential to have your voice heard digitally. Being able to code helps propel that even further — Literally being able to further your own agenda through tech. We are in an increasingly digital age where nearly everyone has a smartphone, and it’s really important to have a diverse set of people creating that code that people are using," she says.
Sofia adds, “It really is true that you can’t be what you can’t see. While there may not be a lot of representation now, the people going into coding now could be who the next generation is looking up to. Instead of wanting to be the next Melinda Gates, you could be the next person that other people are looking up to and aspiring to be." While she admits that it is a lot of pressure to be leading the next generation, it is a responsibility that she nor her peers take lightly as it will set the tone for other minorities coming up in STEM.
Erika Hairston is another young coder who values representation in this space and throughout her career. As the CEO and Co-Founder, Edlyft Hairston created an app Zimela, meaning “representation” to help underrepresented groups enter the tech pipeline by establishing mentorships and making users aware of career placement opportunities. Inspired by Marvel’s “Black Panther,” Hairston recalls why the movie inspired her journey so much. “I remember seeing a photo of two young black boys looking up at a Black Panther poster with so much excitement and adoration," she recalls. "In that moment, they saw themselves as the popular superhero everyone was rooting for. At the same time, I was a double major in African-American Studies and Computer Science at Yale completing my senior theses. Getting my CS degree was an uphill battle where I almost dropped over 10 times. The most powerful thing that kept me in the major was wanting to be the role model that I so desperately wanted.”
Erika and Sofia are just two of the developers who are leading the way for the next generation of coders with the help of Apple. Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference continues to directly impact the growth of these coders and keeps them on the forefront of being accessible to new technology and software platforms.