This summer, I interned with Girlstart to help develop their alumni program to strengthen connections across their network and redesign their website.
About the internship
Context
Girlstart was founded in 1997 and is a nonprofit dedicated to empowering girls in STEM, offering year-round out-of-school STEM programming for girls in grades 4-8 in Texas, California, Massachusetts, and other locations across the country.
Girlstart provides a year-round, intensive suite of STEM education programs for K-12 girls through after school, summer camps, and other community events. Girlstart’s core programs foster STEM skills development, an understanding of the importance of STEM as a way to solve the world’s major problems, as well as an interest in STEM electives, majors, and careers.
Girlstart didn’t have a formal system to stay connected with alumni after they “graduated” out of their programs. Their early participants’ records consisted of outdated and unorganized spreadsheets containing their parents’ details that were difficult to find. Their website was also outdated and challenging for staff to navigate.
The Challenge
Girlstart needed to organize years of scattered data, establish a way to engage with alumni, and modernize their website to improve accessibility, navigation, and usability.
My Solution
While we waited for responses, I worked on the website redesign. I created several design drafts on Figma and regularly metwith my team to incorporate ther feedback. During the build4good Washington, D.C. convening, I learned about accessible design practices, such as using high-contrast colors, adding alt text to images, and enabling keyboard navigation. I incorporated these principles to craft a new, user-friendly website.
I began by organizing all their data archives. I consolidated all the spreadsheets into cohesive columns, utilized formulas to identify and remove duplicates, and compiled an updated database of parent emails from 1997 to the present. After assembling this dataset, we sent out forms to the parents to gather updated alumni contact information.
Once the design was finalized, I traveled to Girlstart’s headquarters in Austin, Texas, to conduct user testing with parents and staff. I used this feedback and took inspiration from other non-profit websites to continue iterating the design until it felt complete. With support from Girlstart’s web contractor, I built the website pages using WordPress and GenerateBlocks. My goal was to ensure the site was not only accessible and easy to navigate for users but also simple for staff to maintain and update.
My summer with build4good and Girlstart was an incredible learning experience. I strengthened my skills in data organization, UX design, accessibility, and user testing while collaborating with a cross-functional team. Thanks to my team’s feedback and constructive criticism, I felt like I was constantly growing and being challenged. I created over 20 iterations of the website, refining it based on ideas that would make it better. This internship reaffirmed my passion for creating accessible technology—a key reason I pursued computer science—and brought me one step closer to achieving that goal.
Reflection
Beyond the technical skills, I found a strong sense of community with my mentors and cohort, forming friendships that made the experience even more valuable. I wholeheartedly recommend build4good to anyone looking to grow as a professional and as a person. This internship made my summer unforgettable, and I am so grateful for the opportunity to contribute to Girlstart’s mission.