The she++ #include Fellowship Program is run by Stanford University students who believe that high school students are a crucial part of the movement to make tech an inclusive and empowering place. In the #include Fellowship Program, high school students lead initiatives that increase access to and awareness about technology in their communities. As a Fellow, Ella will attend a summit in January, which includes an all-expenses-paid tour of Silicon Valley with other inspiring Fellows from across the country.

Ella applied to the program with her CodeHers CLE initiative, which was born from her work with Laurel’s Capstone Scholars Program and brought interested Middle School girls together for a hackathon to learn Python, a beginner-friendly, multi-purpose programming language. The inaugural CodeHers CLE event took place last June and drew a large crowd of students from Laurel and area middle schools. Ella hopes to host a second event later this year.