Meet Annie Laurie and Patience: Families Who Code Together, Build Apps Together
“She had this interest in coding… and it made me want to learn also.”
Annie Laurie and Patience are sisters who have both completed the CodeNow workshop. They utilize each other’s distinct skills and talents to make their projects stand out.
How did you two get started with computer programming?
Patience: Our father is a web designer so he got us interested in coding, but I had always been interested in technology. In school, we worked with programs like Scratch and eventually I wanted to learn more. I would go online for tutorials and when I was a freshman in high school, I started a club by gathering a bunch of friends together and I would teach them HTML and CSS. One of the guidance counselors heard about it and recommended that we sign up for CodeNow.
Annie Laurie: I followed my sister into it. She had this interest in coding that I found to be very cool and it made me want to learn also. My sister knew more than me so I wanted to get better. I would go on YouTube and look for videos that were coding-related.
What are you two working on now?
Patience: A few days ago we won first place at a hackathon so we are currently continuing our work on that project. It’s called Fab Reviews and it is a tool for people to find accurate and unbiased reviews on clothing items.
Annie Laurie: Our project will be entirely coded by ourselves. We won’t be using templates. I mean, my sister knows a lot and she can code in a lot of different languages
Patience: She’s exaggerating. We made a demo for Fab Reviews, so I used HTML, CSS, and Javascript. With Fab Reviews, we will have to do a lot of research while continuing to code. Developers who judged at the hackathon will help us a bit, but I don’t want any mentors to actually code for us. I’m hoping that they will point us in the right direction because I’d like to know what APIs or databases we’ll need.
How is it like working with your sister
Patience: It’s fun because we can argue and go back and forth without it being too intense. Annie is really good at logic, so we work well together. I find myself to be creative, whereby Annie can take my ideas and turn them into something that makes sense.
Annie Laurie: I like working together because I learn a lot from Patience and I can ask a lot of questions.
“Working my sister has inspired me to voice my opinions more…”
What is the most important aspect in working with someone
Patience: Communication. Being clear about everything that you’re doing and expressing your ideas. When creating a new project, it’s important to plan everything. Don’t go into coding on your laptop immediately. Write out the roles and responsibilities. Working with my sister has helped me work well with other kinds of people.
Annie Laurie: Communication. Even if the other person knows more than you, it’s important that you are on the same page. Voice your opinion. Especially as a shy person, I feel like sometimes your opinion isn’t always heard. Working with my sister has inspired me to voice my opinion more because when I work with her, she is loud and always has an opinion.
What are your goals?
Patience: I’d like to create an application with my sister and be able to monetize it. We make a lot of projects for fun, but it would be nice to know that the applications that we develop are appealing to others. We come up with a lot of ideas so sometimes it can be hard to keep track of everything. With every idea that we have, I like to write it down and give a brief description so that I don’t forget what we may have talked about.
Annie Laurie: I want to start a company with my sister. We both have really good ideas but we just have to put them together somehow. Right now we’re developing business ideas, taking business classes, and learning more more about coding.
What has been your proudest achievement so far
Patience: I’m proud of being able to do so much with my code. Learning to code in general is a skill and I’m glad that I will be able to help support my family through code. Last year, I had an internship, and just knowing that I can contribute to my family, monetarily, makes me really proud of the skills that I have acquired.
Patience is currently in her final semester of high school. She looks forward to studying computer science in college, while continuing to work on Fab Reviews with her sister. Annie Laurie is a sophomore, currently preparing for the PSATs. She has a keen interest in pursuing a career in medical engineering, and hopes to help people through her work.
Eventually, Patience and Annie Laurie would like to start their own company.
Liked our post?
CodeNow would not exist without individual contributions from people like you. Whether it’s $10, $100, or $1,000, every dollar helps a student get introduced to the world of technology.
