QPTV Presents: The STEAM Girls - The Tech Crew

These are the girls are part of the tech crew. And, no, they are not building a rocket, although one day they might; but for now they are part of a group known as the “Tech Crew” The group is lead by Andrea Chaves and is comprised of filmmakers, graphic designers, coders, website designers, and project managers in the Young Women’s Leadership School in Astoria, Queens. Andrea Chaves, a Spanish and Computer Science teacher and creative director at the same school, guides the students work collaboratively to create and complete projects that ultimately attempt to expose more young women to the myriad opportunities in the STEAM fields. Andrea started as a Spanish teacher but her passions for technology lead her to pursue her masters in Integration Technology. Although her education had nothing to do with code, Andrea realized the huge gender and minority gap in the STEAM field. With the help of the principle and the Young Women’s Leadership Network's staff, she was able to integrate coding in her classes. We all have heard the quote "it is the greatest achievement of a teacher to enable his students to surpass him" and Andrea is proud of that fact. Andrea and her student's efforts paid off when they were called by the white house to participate in a discussion for the importance of computer science for everyone. STEAM still considered a male dominated filed can scare some girls from entering those professions, but here is what the tech crew thinks about it. Although college is just around the corner, they have big dreams and long term goals necessary for success in any field.