Members of Maria Regina High School’s winning “Tigers Who Code” team are (l to r): Isabella Bendick, Angelina Nguyen and Elizabeth Hunt
In its first major competition since it was established less than a year ago, Maria Regina High School’s Girls Who Code Club won first place in the Beginner Category in the highly competitive Ardsley Hacks, Ardsley High School’s annual day-long Hackathon.
“It was a resounding achievement,” declared Shelagh Amann, computer science instructor and moderator of the Club,” adding, “For the first time, our participants stepped into the world of hackathons—facing challenges head-on, working as a team, and proving that perseverance and dedication lead to success. I couldn’t be prouder!”
Maria Regina’s winning team comprised freshmen Isabella Bendick of New Rochelle and Angelina Nguyen of Yonkers and junior Elizabeth Hunt of Yonkers. They came up with the team name, “Tigers Who Code,” when they entered the competition. High school participants of all grade levels from the region focused on the theme, “dollars and data,” underscoring the intersection of finance and technology. The young coders were challenged to incorporate the theme into their projects, allowing for creative interpretations.
In capturing the Beginner Category Award, the “Tigers Who Code” team was recognized for their outstanding coding skills as newcomers to the field who had not previously participated in any hackathons,
Emboldened by their victory, Maria Regina’s Girls Who Code Club is likely to set its sights on two other Ardsley Hacks awards categories next year. They are Written Code which recognizes projects with code that is readable, well-structured, organized, reliable, and efficient and Overall Project, the top award that honors the best project as a whole.
Principal Maria Carozza-McCaffrey (Class of ’99) lauded the Club’s “young innovators for their dedication and ingenuity that earned them a top honor in the Ardsley Hacks, a testament to their talent and perseverance and to their mentor, Mrs. Amann, who is inspiring our students to continue breaking gender barriers in technology and leadership.”
The renowned all-girls Catholic high school established the Girls Who Code Club as part of its continuing commitment to inspire and empower young women with the technological skills they need to be globally competitive in their post-secondary pursuits. Since the Club was launched, its ranks quickly filled with 15 active members.
In a related major development earlier this year, Maria Regina won the annual AP Computer Science Female Diversity Award for the second year in a row. It was one of only 847 high schools in the nation to earn the prestigious honor.
