Women Who Reign: Tyra Macharia

“Life is to be lived, not controlled, and humanity is won by continuing to play in face of certain defeat.” -Ralph Ellison

Tell us about yourself along with a fun fact!
I am a senior at Westwood High School in Austin, Texas. Growing up, I had never considered computer science as a possible career path. I have always had an interest in literature and art but was not exposed to computer science until my junior year of high school, when I was placed in APCS. I immediately became interested in the course. The artistic side of me recognized the intrinsic beauty of a perfectly working piece of code. Since then I have had the opportunity to be involved with organizations such as Girls Who Code, NCWIT and She++. I co-founded an organization called Aspire in STEM, a program for local middle school girls aimed at closing the gender gap in STEM fields by empowering girls of the next generation to pursue STEM. I am also working on developing an iOS app that encourages teens to get involved with politics in the US.
Fun Fact: My best friend is my cat named Mila.

What # would define your life journey?
#BeTheChange

Favorite website / app:
My favorite website is Vox, a news media platform. I admire how their ‘Explained’ videos make complex problems more digestible and how they…