Alesya Gets Creative with Code!

Ten-year-old Alesya lives in New York likes to draw animals and wants to be a vet and an animator when she grows up! As her favorite subjects in school are math and art, that sounds like a great career combination! Fun fact: Aleysa knows how to do Muay Thai, also known as Thai boxing!

We caught up with Alesya and her mom Azahah to learn more about how Alesya uses coding as a creative medium and a way to express herself!

How did you get introduced to coding? I started coding a couple years ago, probably 2016. I don’t remember when I got introduced to Tynker.

How did you learn how to use Tynker when you were first starting out? I learned how to code by looking at other projects on the community board!

How have your coding skills improved since you started using Tynker? Much better.

How did you feel when you found out your project had been featured? I got excited!

What is your favorite project you’ve made so far? My favorite project is about dress up! You dress up a kid and I like all the different outfits I made.

“Girl dress up (original)”

Where did you get the idea for your favorite project? How long did it take you to make? I was looking at some other projects and I wanted to do something similar! It took me about 2 days.

How do you get inspiration for your projects? I come up with the ideas on my own for some projects.

What do you do with a project when you’re done with it? I look to see if there’s a mistake and then I show my parents and then publish it.

What are you planning to make next? I’m working on one project, it’s like an iPad! Like a simulator!

What’s the best thing about Tynker? The best thing about Tynker is how the community can see everyone else’s projects.

Do you think other kids should try coding? Why’s that? Yes! Because coding can be really fun when you think about it!

Alesya’s mom Azahah is a researcher who regularly uses coding to do a lot of data analysis and assessment. She told us that she was excited when she found out that Alesya was also learning how to code! “At first when she started to share with me that she is coding, I was like, ‘Wow,’ because I’m a researcher, so I code a lot of qualitative and quantitative data, so I said, ‘How do you know how to do coding?’ So, she showed me Tynker and I said, ‘Ohh wow,’ so I started to read more about the importance of coding for children now, which is totally different than five to ten years ago, like all kids know how to do coding know. So, I’m excited that she’s also doing that.”

Azahah explained that Tynker functions as a creative outlet for Alesya: “One of her career options is to become an animator, so using Tynker she can explore more about her drawing skills, her narrative skills, because she’s a little shy to talk, but using Tynker, she can use it as a platform for us to engage in conversation and to share projects with her friends and just to be friendlier, so that’s how Tynker can help her.” Not only does coding help Alesya express herself, but it’s also a great way for her to prepare to make career choices, as Azahah told us: “I think this skill can be applied to many fields, especially STEM fields, technology, and engineering…Five years ago, people didn’t think that this was important, but I think this skill is important. It is one of the skills that can prepare her or other kids for their entire future.”

We couldn’t agree more! We’re so happy that you took the time to talk to us, Alesya and Azahah, and we’re excited to see how Alesya continues to use coding to share her ideas with the world!