Tai Cruz: artist, social activist & a girl who codes.
“Growing up, the idea of a woman — especially one who is half Black, half Hispanic — going into the technology field was unheard of. I remember watching TV and seeing only guys working with the computers.” — Tai Cruz
Meet Tai Cruz, a 17 year-old art and computer-science lover from NYC. Self-described as creative, avant-garde and open-minded, she is determined to break the norms of her gender and her half Hispanic, half Black background!
Q&A with Tai Cruz:
What Interested You In Girls Who Code?
Growing up, the idea of a woman — especially one who is half Black, half Hispanic — going into the technology field was unheard of. I remember watching TV and seeing only guys working with the computers. I knew I had a love for technology but my family didn’t have a lot of money so I wasn’t given many opportunities to explore computer science. I also had a love for art and when you think of art and technology many people find it hard to correlate them together.
Girls Who Code gave me a chance to prove to my community that no matter where you come from, you have the ability to make a difference in the world.
I believe that anyone can learn to code even if you don’t like math or science and you like art (like me). I learned that I can use my love of art with computer science!
What was the hardest part of learning to code and how did you overcome it?
There were MANY times when I would stumble upon a problem that was too difficult and I felt the need to give up. However, I learned it’s okay to feel stuck sometimes and continue on one step at a time.
During the Summer Immersion Program, my team’s app crashed and we had to start building it all over again! We loved the idea for the app and didn’t want to give up. So, we had to quickly learn an entirely new programming language. In the end, our app turned out better than we originally hoped. It was great being able to overcome this challenge as a team!
How has learning to code made you feel more confident?
I know what I want to study in college! I’m going to be a computer science major with a possible minor in art. Hopefully, I’ll be an intern at Pixar!
What advice would you give to another girl to inspire her to learn to code?
Don’t feel scared! You learn from your mistakes in coding and can overcome them. It’s all about trial and error.
What are you most proud of?
I’m always taking part in movements for social change for gender and racial equality and actively express my voice to teach others about social justice issues. I’m also proud of how artistic I’ve become over the past year. Trying to find my artist voice has been difficult; I am still learning what that (“artist voice”) means today.
What are your hobbies aside from coding?
I love to create zines in my spare time!
Follow Tai:
- Snapchat: tai-dyeee
- tumblr: http://artposer.tumblr.com/
Originally published at imagirlwhocodes.com on December 22, 2015.
