Meet STEM Girl: Briana Berger

Gentlemen, it’s time to move over: women are entering STEM fields more often these days. Even some are changing the STEM world in their teenage years. I had the pleasure to interview Briana Berger, a sixteen year-old girl coder.

A rising junior at F.W. Buchholz High School in Gainesville, Florida, Briana spends her time coding, volunteering, doing sports, and etc. She has been doing Tae Kwon Do for six years and is a first degree black belt (Kukkiwon’s 1st DAN, WTF-style). Briana also is in the speech and debate team as the secretary. As well as, she is a member of the school’s GOLD (Leadership Development) club, Spanish club, Mu Alpha Theta, Robotics team and Chemistry Olympiad team. Plus, Briana is a part of the Leadership Team at her church’s youth ministry, the president and founder of coderGirls at her school, and the president and founder of SeniorTechNet. She also knows how to code with Java, Python, CSS3, and HTML5 . As well as, she is well versed in Photoshop, Adobe Audition, and Adobe Premiere.

“Coding is where creativity meets logic. That’s the beauty of it: two different subjects meshed into one.”

Briana has always been intrigued by technology, even on her childhood toy computer. So, as she grew older, she became more aware on how computer science lacks in girls, a variety of ethnic groups, and senior citizens.

Briana became motivated to organize a program specifically for seniors citizens after participating in many CS activities online. The lack of female participants, as well as seniors was glaring.

Moreover, she had experienced the gender gap firsthand, as the only girl in programming forums, the only girl in her math class that enjoyed the subject, and the only girl in her immediate family ever to pursue a STEM career. So, she knew what it was like to be isolated in another world. That’s why she wanted to create a friendly environment for seniors to adapt to technology and learn to connect with others.

Hoping to empower senior citizens and encourage them to pursue technology, Briana founded SeniorTechNet, a program to help teach senior citizens how to utilize technology to its fullest potential.

During the program, senior citizens are learning how to use their device, how to use settings, how to save memory, get programs, skype, etc. Not only does SeniorTechNet teach, but also it helps foster an open mind about the new world of technology — all within an environment in which they were, finally, in the majority.

How did you become interested in programming and computer science?

I always loved to use the computer. I like playing games, going to fun websites, etc. However, I was one of the few that wanted to know how it actually works. So, in elementary school, I did very simplistic, basic websites. Yet, in middle school and high school, I edited and made videos based around technology on YouTube. I even got a partnership and over 25,000 views, which allowed me to monetize my videos. So, this technology based hobby fostered my computer science love.

During my freshman year, I would code blogs and plugins for various technology based organizations. I was also a volunteer tutor at Girls Place dedicating to educate at risk children with one-to-one learning solutions.Then, in the summer after freshman year, I took a Java course at Rollins College under ID Tech. I began to code more websites and blogs for other people to benefit. Some websites included tutorials and a homework help website for students in my school.

In my sophomore year, I founded SeniorTechNet, my program to help close the gap between elders and technology. It has helped them connect to family through easier communication and ability to relate. I also volunteer my time as a Buddy at Camp I am Special to give 24-hour care to provide care and companionship to a person with disabilities. As well as, in my sophomore year, I joined a Girls Who Code chapter at a University of Florida, where I learned Python and made life-long friends through their love for coding.

I also won the title of a Technovation Worldwide Coding Competition 2016 Semifinalist, where I competed globally in making an application for Android, iPhone, or Windows. The app created was called SleepBeep, which is to help drivers with their fatigue.

As of now, I’m learning more coding material through FreeCodeCamp, which allows a learning experince and certification in Front End Development, Back End Development, Full Stack Development, and Data Visualization. As well as, I have done an online Stanford course called CS101.

Why did you make your app, SleepBeep, and how does it work?

People continuously want to keep going and reach their destination. To make matters worse for truck drivers, their shippers are pushing them to their limits. However, at what cost? The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that drowsy driving was responsible for 72,000 crashes, 44,000 injuries, and 800 deaths in 2013. 1 However, these numbers are underestimated and up to 6,000 fatal crashes each year may be caused by drowsy drivers. 2–4 From prior experience, I have seen drivers swerving off the side of the road and even trucks go over the side of mountains in the early morning. People often don’t know when they’ve reached that “too tired” state. So, driver fatigue is an issue that cannot be ignored. That is why I created SleepBeep because I knew with my abilities of coding I could help save lives from driver fatigue.

SleepBeep is to help drivers with their fatigue. It has a driver fatigue test where it will determine if you should keep driving. The questions have memorization, calculation, and self-diagnosis. If you receive a bad score, an alarm will beep every fifteen minutes to help keep you awake until you find a place to rest. As well as, SleepBeep provides users a list with a variety of locations and facilities that they can use. Some of the maps are of hotels, rest stops, fast food restaurants, free air pump locations, gas stations with their prices, and even a trucker directory. Also, SleepBeep has a statistics section, where it provides several links to statistics that allows users to think twice about driving in a fatigued state.

Tell us about SeniorTechNet.

SeniorTechNet is to help teach senior citizens how to utilize technology to its fullest potential. They will be able to use their skills on an iPhone, iPad, and iPad Mini. As well as, they can bring their own devices (Android, Windows, etc), if they need extra assistance. Sessions vary from teaching them the basics to skyping their grandkids. Also, it teaches them how to relate with their grandkids and be the “cool grandparent.”

It also allows them to keep in contact with old friends by email or texting. Instruction includes everything from changing their wallpaper to taking a selfie. Instead of seniors being frustrated with technology, they embrace it, being able to have information with a touch of a button. No matter how old or young, it is an essential skill in our society; and the program does so for those in Gainesville.

What motivated you to start a coding camp for seniors?

Unfortunately, I’m used to being the only girl in tech-related extracurriculars and activities. During coding events, and even in everyday conversations, I’ve faced bias, even if it’s just small things.

One of the reasons I’ve stayed in this field is because of my amazing support networks — the Technovation Semifinalist Award and Girls Who Code. They helped motivate to continue outreaching into the community to help promote technology, specifically to minorities.

Why do you feel that it’s important to encourage minorities in technology?

Minorities are discouraged or feel as if they can’t do it. They need a backbone and community to encourage them on, whether in just using technology or trying to code with it.

For myself, being a female minority was not unusual for me: I do Tae Kwon Do, I like math, I like science, and I like to code. Yet, it’s nice to know a community is always cheering me on because I face the bias each day. I tell a person at church that I’m planning on majoring in Computer Science and they are shocked, especially as I further our conversation on how I’m doing calculus. I tell a family friend that I want to major in Computer Science and they reply, “Oh, do you want to design websites?” However, having role models and communities has allowed me to pursue my love for coding.

Do you have a favorite memory or anecdote you can share from your program?

A student was confused why his mobile phone wasn’t working with the touch sensitivity. He told me that it hasn’t been working for weeks.

I look at how he is taping the screen and I see that the whole time he has been using his fingernail. Then, I show him how to correctly tap with the warmth of your finger and his eyes lit up.

He attempted to do it immediately and when it worked, the biggest smile formed upon his face.

What are your future plans for SeniorTechNet?

I plan to continue SeniorTechNet, at least through my senior year of high school. Then, I’ll have someone takeover the program in Gainesville and I’ll probably start another one near my future college. Because of its success, I think it should be easier to attract participants.