FIRST taught me valuable coding and leadership skills

FIRST is not only about robots; it's about learning. On my FIRST Robotics Competition team, The Thunder Chickens, I learned how to code from our mentors. It was really cool to see my code controlling an actual robot. I got really interested in computer science. For most of my time on the team, I was the only female programmer.

FIRST gave me the skills and confidence to help change lives in my community. As a result, I was inspired to create a tech camp to help close the gender gap in engineering and introduce more girls to computer science. I named the camp ‘Hello World’ because I wanted girls to say hello to computer science. The phrase, which is the first thing many programmers type out in a new computer science language, is symbolic of all the possibilities with computer science. I hope to show girls that their ability is unlimited.

In 2017, Christina, who is studying computer science and mechanical engineering with a focus on robotics at Stanford University, was featured on CNN Heroes for helping close the gender gap in the tech world.