Bridge21 Changed My Life
Niamh, a former Bridge21 student now studying MSISS here in Trinity College, has written about her time with Bridge21 and the difference it made to her….
“I can say without a doubt that Bridge21 has changed my life.
Before entering the program as a Transition Year student, I had no idea what to expect. The mention of technology, Trinity College, and working with boys were daunting, yet exciting concepts; especially coming from an all-girls school.
Bridge21 offered me incredible insights into a wide range of topics; from movie making, programming, robotics, and industrial design – as well as developing personal skills such as group work, presentation and public speaking skills. Having completed a number of programmes during my transition year, I had definitley been bitten by the Bridge21 bug, and was lucky enough to have the opportunity to return as a mentor to Primary School children during my final years of secondary school. Since then, I have gone on to work closely with Bridge21’s CodePlus project – an initiative that runs after school coding clubs in a number of all-girls secondary schools.
Bridge21 gave me the confidence to explore college courses in STEM subjects, and I can now proudly say that I am a final year Management Science and Information Systems student in Trinity College, Dublin. Without Bridge21, the concept of a career in STEM was a foreign concept; I suppose I would have fallen into the stereotypical mind frame of “coding is for boys”, and would have thought TCD was completely non-viable. Walking into college every day as one of five girls in a male-dominated course makes me extremely proud and grateful to Bridge21 for opening my eyes to these possibilities.
Not only has Bridge21 influenced me in my degree, but also in my part time work. I have just returned from California where I worked at the world’s largest and leading Tech Camp in Stanford University, where I was both a robotics instructor and a Technical Coordinator for seven buildings around campus.
Without working and studying at Bridge21, none of this would have been possible. I am beyond grateful for all of the opportunities and experiences that Bridge21 has allowed me, and it is most definitely a program that I believe all secondary school students should have the opportunity to engage in.”
Obviously, we were delighted to hear what Niamh had to say about the programme and the impact it had on her. This is why we do what we do. We’re beyond proud of what Niamh has achieved so far and look forward to seeing where she goes next.
