Allie Fairweather

“Most people only recognize my looks, but most won’t recognize my brains.”

“Computer science? Really? Why?” is what most people reply with when I tell them my major. Or the best response is “isn’t that … hard?” Of course it’s hard, but just because I’m pretty doesn’t mean I’m dumb.”

It was at 18 that Cleopatra became ruler of Egypt, in 51 B.C.E., and Victoria the queen of Great Britain, in 1837.

By the time she was 18, Britney Spears had had two No. 1 albums on the Billboard chart, and Serena Williams had won the U.S. Open.

Emma Gonzalez, 18 now, has become a global leader in the movement to end gun violence.

No pressure, right?

There is a clear disconnect between the computer science industry and the message girls receive about their ability to succeed in tech organizations,” according to computerscience.org.