“Proud to be a Filipino” ang ating paboritong linya sa tuwing maihahanay sa ibang lahi o makakapagkamit ng tagumpay ang ating kapwa Pilipino sa anumang larangan.
Isabel Sieh, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg / Composite photos credit to the owner
Kaya naman nakaka-proud ang isang 17-year-old na dalaga mula sa Antipolo City na inihahanay kina Bill Gates ng Microsoft at Mark Zuckerberg ng Facebook pagdating sa computer programming.
Kasama siya sa “7 Famous Computer Programmers Who Started Programming at an Early Age” ng website na Interesting Engineering.
Kinilala ang napakahusay na pinay na si Isabel Sieh na ngayon ay kumukuha ng kursong Bachelor in Computer Science sa Stanford University sa California, USA.
Isabel Sieh / Photo credit to the owner
Isabel Sieh / Photo credit to the owner
“When I was around 10 years old, my teacher saw that I was really interested in math, and he suggested that I try out coding.
“So I looked into it. I basically searched things like ‘How to learn to code’ online. The first thing I found was a website called Code Academy that had resources for learning coding.”
Doon na raw natutunan ni Isabel ang HTML o HyperText Markup Language, CCC o Common Command Set, at JavaScript.
Sa pamamagitan ng coding at computer programming, makakabuo ng softwares, apps, websites, at kahit games.
“It was really interesting to me because I saw how I could create whatever I wanted. At the time, I loved playing games on my phone, and I suddenly realized that I had the power to create those games that I loved,” kwento niya.
“It was really cool for me to see all the things that I could do with coding,” dagdag niya.
Pero nakulangan Isabel sa online sources, kaya ikinuha siya ng kanyang mommy na si Ronna ng tutor.
“I have always loved coding, spending hours learning through online courses. As I learned more, however, the courses became more challenging. Moreover, it was difficult to understand explanations purely from online forums.”
Dahil sa kanyang sariling karanasan, natuklasan ni Isabel na maaaring matutunan ang coding sa murang edad. Kaya naman nagtuturo siya sa mga anak na babae ng kanilang mga kapitbahay.
Isabel Sieh / Photo credit to the owner
Isabel Sieh / Photo credit to the owner
Tuwing weekend, may 20 estudyante siyang tinuturuan.
Sa artikulong nailabas sa “Smart Parenting noong June 19, 2021, sinabi ni mommy Ronna na gumawa ng system si Isabel upang turuan ang kanyang mga estudyante.
Bill Gates / Photo: The World Economic Forum
Mark Zuckerberg / Photo credit: The Verge
“She [Isabel] created a system to teach them. It was amazing.”
May mga nagbabayad sa kanyang pagtuturo. Nag-hire din siya ng co-teacher.
Bukod sa pagtuturo ay nagsimula rin si Isabel na magsagawa ng outreach sa mga public schools.
Sa umpisa ay mahirap dahil walang Wi-Fi at luma ang mga computer ang karamihan sa mga public schools.
Pinayuhan siya ni Mommy Ronna na hindi nakakahiya kung walang gustong sumali sa kanya.
“They just didn’t understand, so maybe you can help them understand more.”
Dahil dito ay mas naging determinado si Isabel kaya binago niya ang kanyang style o approach.
Sa halip na magsalita sa auditorium sa harap ng 100 students, bumisita siya sa mga classrooms. Dahil dito ay naka-recruit siya ng 15 miyembro para sa kanyang club.
Nang maging popular ang kanyang online community na Girls Will Code at ang advocacy ni Isabel na magturo ng coding sa mga kapwa niya batang babae, nakatanggap siya ng daan-daang emails mula sa iba’t ibang kumpanya at media outlets.
Sa gabay ng kanyang ina, nakipag-partner lang ang club ni Isabel sa mga kumpanya na ang tunay na layunin ay matulungan ang misyon ng Girls Will Code.
Pinili niya ang Google at Accenture, na parehong multinational company na ang specialization ay information technology.
May isa pang concern si Mommy Ronna: Ang huwag gawing marketing tool ang anak at ang club.
“Google and Accenture were very good partners in that they let Isabel take the lead on what she wanted to do,” sabi ni mommy Rona.
“They never required a photo or video recording of her. You knew they weren’t gonna use her to be a marketing tool. All they wanted was whatever Isabel’s vision is, whatever they can do to help it grow,” dagdag niya.
Tumanggi rin si mommy Ronna sa mga requests na interview kay Isabel sa mga TV shows para hindi siya ma-pressure.
Isabel Sieh / Photo credit to the owner
Isabel Sieh / Photo credit to the owner
“The whole world was telling her, 'You’re the Bill Gates or Steve Jobs of the Philippines.'
"What if in the end she actually wanted to be an educator and not think of anything to do with computer science?”
“What if that’s her real calling? I do not want to take that away from her because the whole world is telling her she’s Bill Gates. I was very protective of her true self,” paliwanag ni mommy Ronna.
Pagtungtong ni Isabel sa edad na 15, mas maraming kabataan na ang gustong sumali at matututo ng coding sa kanya. Maging ang mga batang lalaki ay gusto na ring sumali.
Isabel Sieh / Photo credit to the owner
Isabel Sieh / Photo credit to the owner
Nag-suggest ang kanyang ina na magtayo sila ng coding school.
Nag-resign si Mommy Ronna sa trabaho nang pumayag si Isabel, at itinayo nila ang The Coding School.
Ayon sa kanya, “I really saw the impact of what she was doing and what it was doing for the ecosystem. And I did see the value in professionalizing it so that it’s institutionalized, so that you’ll always have this place for students to learn how to prepare for the future, and have the skills needed for that.”
Isabel Sieh / Photo credit to the owner
Si Isabel ang nagdisenyo ng curriculum, ng iba’t ibang tracks, pati na rin kung ilang classes ang kaya nila at kung anong content ang akma para sa iba’t ibang age groups.
Paliwanag ni Mommy Ronna, “I did not have to learn how to code. I just had to understand what kind of students and coaches she needed.
“When I got on board that was a big focus: training coaches, getting coaches, making sure that standards were met.”
Sa ngayon ay patuloy pa rin ang operasyon ng “The Coding School” at hindi magtatagal ay magiging malaki itong coding school.
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Source: PEP
