MasterCard's Girls4Tech Program Encourages Ossining Girls to Pursue STEM Careers

About 75 Anne M. Dorner Middle School students were the first to try out MasterCard’s new Girls4Tech in a Day education program, which the company is officially launching around the world this spring.

Through hands-on activities, the sixth-grade girls learned how encryption keeps data safe; how technology, digital convergence and biometrics can simplify life; and that they can use algorithms to solve problems in a series of steps in logical order. The purpose of the program is to encourage girls to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math.

At one station, AMD students saw how they could pay for a product by taking a selfie on their phone or waving a device close to a payment portal. MasterCard employee Sarah Gretczko told one group of girls that they will one day be able to buy something using a chip embedded in their clothing.

At another table, girls received a series of letters written on a long strip of paper and had to crack the code. At a third station, they created an algorithm for the fastest way to sort and count a jar full of pompoms. One group trimmed the time it took to complete the task from nearly two minutes to just 30 seconds after using their algorithm.

Through its Girls4Tech program, MasterCard previously had girls visit their campuses to learn about the technology. Now it is taking it into classrooms around the world, including Buenos Aires, London, Sydney and Dubai. Girls4Tech, which MasterCard launched in 2014, has reached 1,800 girls so far.

MasterCard visited AMD in late January and will bring Girls4Tech in a Day back to the school in May for the rest of the sixth-grade girls.

The company developed the curriculum in conjunction with its top engineers and technologists, and it is based on global science and math standards. Some of the careers the girls are asked to consider are cryptologist, data scientist, software engineer, computer programmer and data scientist.

“I liked how we learned about different jobs that we could do that are related to technology,” said Nyasha Nyoni, 11.

Nyasha said she was impressed by the technology that allows people to securely purchase a product by using a fingerprint or taking a selfie on their phone.

“Usually if you have a number pass code, some people could figure it out and unlock your phone. Since it’s actually fingerprints or a face, no one can unlock it except me,” she said.

More than 20 women who work for MasterCard volunteered to be mentors for the AMD students. “I think it’s really cool that they’re women because I feel like a see a lot of guys doing this kind of stuff and I don’t see as many girls doing it,” said Isabella Seitz, 11.