Meet the Intern Creating a Web App to Help Young Girls Navigate Puberty
Foundry10 intern Maggie Wang wants to make an accessible resource for girls seeking information on periods, mental health, body dysmorphia and more.
When COVID-19 shut down the foundry10 office, we took our internship program online. Youth adapted, created, persevered and far exceeded expectations. Learn more about how Virtual Internships Teach Life Skills You Can’t Learn in School and Why You Should Consider Hiring a Virtual Intern.
Foundry10 intern Maggie Wang, a rising Senior at Bellevue High School wants to spare other young women the confusion she experienced as a girl searching for information about puberty online. Her accessible app emphasizes the importance of inclusion, diversity and acceptance. Learn more about Maggie!
What do you like to do for fun?
I play a lot of basketball! I played competitive AAU for about 6 years, and am currently, the starting point guard and captain for my school’s varsity team, so it’s been a really important part of my life for a long time. Since it’s summertime now, I usually go out to my nearby middle school and play a few games of pick-up. It’s something I love to do since it’s an opportunity to actually interact with other people, while also getting some exercise in and having fun.
Describe your summer intern project.
I am developing a web application using HTML and CSS, called Periodt. When I was starting puberty, I remember feeling really lost and also intimidated to speak up about my confusion regarding the whole process. After all, as a young teen, it’s almost like it’s a taboo that you don’t really want to speak of, especially with stuff like periods, mental health, body dysmorphia, and more. When I searched online, I found that most of the resources that talked about female puberty were very scientific and targeted more towards adults rather than kids, which made it even more difficult to educate myself on something so important. That’s why I am creating Periodt: to provide a free, accessible, and educational resource targeted for young girls to learn about the process of puberty! I also stress the importance of inclusion, diversity, and acceptance through gender-neutral language and graphics showcasing girls of all body types, ethnicities, and more.
What have you enjoyed most about working on your project so far? What has been the most challenging part?
I actually have a little kind of team of sorts, because my mentor (shoutout to Karthik) actually mentors two different projects, so all three of us get together two times a week to discuss and check-up. I have loved getting to know them and be able to not only talk about our projects but also talk about our lives and hear some valuable insights from our mentor. More directly tied to my project, the thing I’ve most enjoyed is seeing the website come to life piece by piece. It’s been so satisfying finally realizing how to solve something after being stuck for so long, and then having everything slowly come to life. It’s incredibly tiresome but rewarding. I would say the most challenging part is definitely laying out the page, to make the graphics and text look cohesive together.
What is one thing you think most people would be surprised to learn about you?
I once completely air-balled a three-pointer in a game of Bump against Zach LaVine in front of a crowd of about 100 kids. It’s mortifying but funny.
If you could only listen to one song, watch one movie, read one book, and/or play one game for the rest of your life, which ones would you choose?
One song: Talking to the Moon by Bruno Mars
One movie: Soul (Pixar)
One book: The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan
One game: Basketball
If you could design your own school, what would it be like?
First, it would be entirely free for students to attend and I would make sure the teachers are paid well (they deserve more). The classic classes will be mandatory for everyone: math, science, English, and history. I would also make computer science mandatory because I feel like it’s a valuable course that all students should learn in the modern age.
I also want to make a mandatory “Future Planning” class, where students learn about financial planning, compound interest, how to sign a check, how insurance works, student loans, and more. Teachers can be anyone who is qualified and passionate to teach kids. I would serve nutritious, balanced meals that don’t taste like microwaved gloop.
Our mascot would be an elephant because that’s my favorite animal, and our colors would be rainbow (because why confine ourselves). The first period would start at 10 AM and the last period would end at 4 PM (6 hour school day).
Is there anything I didn’t ask here that you want the world to know about you?
I am incredibly thankful for the opportunity I have here to work with foundry10 to create my passion project, and I highly recommend that all students apply next year because it really is an amazing opportunity. Also, please look forward to my website, I am planning for it to be published around mid-Fall.
