Last Thursday, GirlTech (our Senior School coding and mentorship club for female students) took a field trip to Kitchener to visit the head offices of Google Canada.

When we arrived, the girls sat down for lunch in the cafeteria and were joined by Google engineers who chatted with the group about their work experience. After lunch, a manager held a workshop for the girls to teach them about search algorithms using games. More engineers then joined for a Q&A session where they spoke about their studies, their career paths and their lives at Google. Each speaker was a woman.

 

After touring Google’s incredible offices, the students commented:

 

“There was a great vibe in the workplace as well as a ton of facilities. I have to be honest – I loved the fact that we were always within 150 ft of food!” – Taylor Lau, Grade 12.

 

“It was interesting to see how innovative Google is as a company!” – Paula Banhara, Grade 11.

"Having the opportunity to go to Google was an incredible experience! It allowed us to see what kinds of jobs are available to us if we wanted to continue to learn coding." - Emma Perlmutar-Mahoney, Grade 12. 

 

It was a fantastic day and so inspiring for our students to be able to speak directly with women who exemplify what GirlTech aims to do.

 

Following our trip, GirlTech has been offered an exclusive invitation to visit the offices once a year! Not many groups are given access to Google at all, so The York School is honoured to have this privilege. Thanks to Google and to GirlTech’s leader, Ruth Eichholtz, for leading this initiative.