By Bujinlkham Altangerel ’22 (Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, placed by ASSE in Dayton, NV)
Naranjargal Bold ’23 shares that her exchange year in the U.S. opened her eyes to see the world from a different perspective and inspired her to start a Girls Coding Bootcamp in her lhometown, Khovd, to educate young girls in STEM fields.
Naranjargal’s interest in STEM fields started at an early age. Since first grade, she has been taking part in the annual math Olympiads. During her exchange year, where she studied at Monomoy Regional High School in Massachusetts she took coding classes for the first time. “Even though I enjoyed every other class I took, coding classes were the best as every little detail was interesting, such as how computers carry information, how to make applications, and more,” Naranjargal shared.
As soon as Naranjargal returned from her exchange year, she felt the need to share the knowledge she gained, as she observed that there were limited accessible or affordable coding classes for girls in her hometown. “Everywhere I go, there are usually men dominating the STEM field. In the tenth grade, I participated in provincial coding competitions and there were only two girls,” says Naranjargal. “Even in my American coding classes, it was mainly guys. Additionally, during my exchange year, I participated in the Girl Scouts’ conference in Rhode Island, which aimed to support girls, which inspired me to encourage even more girls.”
In May 2023, Naranjargal started Girls Coding Bootcamp, a five-week camp that taught the basics of coding.To execute the event, Naranjargal collaborated with the local library’s American Corner to lead the-hour classes each Thursday. Since there were a limited number of computers, the camp engaged five local students, whom she taught the basics of coding and C++ language, along with discussing opportunities in STEM fields. To make the curriculum, she received advice from some software engineers on what to teach and decided to make a basic curriculum that is simple to understand based on her knowledge and understanding from her classes in the U.S.
“Throughout the boot camp, participants showed great interest and growth,” said Naranjargal. “On the last day, as we discussed what we learned, they said that they gained more interest in the STEM field after trying out coding. At the end of January, I also met one of my students on the podium at the Informatics Olympiad, which inspired me to contribute to my community even more. Even though I was a bit nervous at the beginning, I found myself very happy and satisfied at the end of the programming workshop.”
In the future, Naranjargal plans to continue to share her experience and knowledge gained while in the U.S. with even more people and, therefore, solve even bigger problems with the help of technology. Her passion for coding and desire to give back to her community sets a powerful example of how education and mentorship can drive positive change.
Featured Alumni:
Naranjargal Bold ’23 (Jargalant, Khovd, placed by AFS in South Chatham, MA)
