Code & Cupcakes workshop. Photo credit: Brent Knepper
Note: This article is part of KOVAL’s “Innovation Month.” While KOVAL continues to change the way people think about whiskey, we're highlighting thinkers, technologists, entrepreneurs, designers, organizations, and brands that we believe are streamlining the future of how the world works.
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You may have heard of 1871—a bustling co-working space in Chicago’s historic Merchandise Mart fostering some of the newest and most innovative technologies and digital companies. From coding classes to lectures from international industry leaders, 1871 is an ideal environment for budding CEOs and tech leaders.
Fewer people know about a similar entrepreneurial paradise—Pilsen’s Blue1647. Walking into this dynamic co-working space, it’s almost impossible not to feel its overpowering sense of community. The walls are decorated with murals by local Chicago street artist, Roho Garcia, who also happens to be the resident DJ.
3D Printer and model at Blue1647. Photo credit: KOVAL Distillery
Located on Blue Island Avenue in the heart of the neighborhood and a part of the inaugural City of Chicago Technology Plan, Blue1647 is an entrepreneurship and technology innovation center that fosters economic development and technology through classes, workshops, events, and business acceleration.
One of the unique workshops that was recently held within its walls is Code & Cupcakes—a beginning coding class for mothers and daughters.
The program was founded in 2014 by Jen Myers, who never expected that she’d be working with technology.
“I grew up in a time and place where I had little access to it,” said Myers. “The prospect of becoming a web designer/developer was nonexistent because when I was young those jobs didn’t exist.”
That changed in 2000, when Myers first started using the internet on a daily basis, which led her to want to understand computers. From there, she started teaching herself how to make web pages.
Even though the drive was there, Myers pointed out that she had a difficult time in her own education. “I often felt isolated and excluded and I didn’t have the same resources of network, support, and role models that my male peers had,” said Myers.
Those feelings of exclusion, combined with the competitive atmosphere of the industry, led Myers to create an educational environment where students were encouraged, accepted, and supported at the Columbus chapter of Girl Develop It, a national program that got its start in New York.
“Code and Cupcakes springs from the same general inspiration, but focused on my personal experience as a single mother of a daughter.”
At first, Myers decided to focus on mothers and daughters because of her own experiences as a mom and entrepreneur. She often has to bring her daughter with her when she teaches classes or speaks at conferences, but Myers and her daughter have also worked together on their own web pages and projects (and had a lot of fun doing it).
“I wanted to create a community where all of that was normal. I also wanted to serve both audiences. Mothers are an audience that typically gets overlooked. But if we want to make any progress on greater inclusion in tech, we need to pay attention to the responsibilities of women who are raising children. They deserve just as many opportunities to learn new skills and potentially earn new jobs.
And, as I mentioned, when we educate mothers with their daughters, we create a built-in support structure for young girls, who sometimes are not encouraged or supported in STEM learning. A recent survey reported that 93% of parents asked if they would encourage their daughters to study STEM subjects said they would not. This can have a huge impact on girls’ career options.”
Code & Cupcakes workshop. Photo credit: Brent Knepper
When I asked Myers about the one skill or value she hopes students can carry with them when they leave the workshop, she said that her “primary goal is for workshop attendees to be more knowledgeable about computers and the web and to be confident that they can learn anything they want to.”
I just want everyone to know that is an option open to them, or a variety of other technical paths. I spent much of my life thinking technical skills were just not for me, and that’s the barrier I want to remove for others.”
