Square Announces Code Camp for High School and College Women Engineering Students
U.S. House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi will visit Square’s headquarters today to meet with women entrepreneurs and employees
SAN FRANCISCO – September 4, 2013– Square, the company making commerce easy for everyone, is launching a series of Code Camp initiatives to inspire and educate high school and college women in computer science, and encourage them to pursue careers in engineering and technology.
The first annual High School Code Camp is an eight-month program designed to prepare young women in San Francisco for the AP Computer Science exam, which may be applied to college credit. Participants will follow a curriculum created and led by Square engineers, which includes lectures, pair programming sessions, and hands-on workshops building mobile applications for Android.
For college engineering students, Square announced its second annual College Code Camp, a four-day immersion program that includes coding workshops and mentorship sessions with Square leaders.
Both programs will be held at Square’s San Francisco headquarters. College Code Camp contest winners will be flown to San Francisco and provided accommodations during their stay.
“Today, 18 percent of computing jobs in the U.S. are held by women,” said Sarah Friar, Chief Financial Officer at Square. “We created Code Camp to encourage more women to enter careers in technology and empower a new generation of entrepreneurs.”
House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi will visit Square’s offices today for a roundtable discussion with Square merchants and employees. Leader Pelosi will hear about Square’s efforts to encourage and support women entrepreneurs, students, and employees, and discuss how the private and public sectors can work together on these issues.
“Square has a unique understanding of the strength, creativity, and savvy that women bring to the business table,” said Leader Pelosi. “Women students and entrepreneurs are the cornerstones of a brighter future for our economy, our communities, and our country, and Square’s Code Camp will teach, mentor, and mold the next generation of coding engineers who will help ensure America remains a global leader in technology and innovation.”
High school students can submit essays online about why they would like to be part of the program at squareup.com/code-camp/high-school-code-camp#apply. Eight participants will be selected. College students can submit their resume and essays online about why they would like to be part of the program at squareup.com/code-camp/college-code-camp#apply. Twenty winners will be selected to participate.
For additional information on Code Camp, including full rules and details on how to apply, visit squareup.com/code-camp.
About Square, Inc.
Square is making commerce easy for everyone. Starting with a free credit card reader for the iPhone, iPad, and Android devices, Square Reader allows anyone to accept credit cards anywhere, anytime, for a low transaction rate of 2.75% per swipe, with no hidden fees. Square Register serves as a full point of sale system for businesses to accept payments, manage items, and share menu and location information. Founded in 2009, and headquartered in San Francisco, Square is currently available in the U.S., Canada, and Japan. More information is available at squareup.com.