Sasha Alston doesn't know why she got into coding in the first place. All she knows is that now she loves it, and she wants to ensure that other girls like her—especially girls of color—have the opportunity to love it, too.
That's where her new children's book, "Sasha Tech Savvy Loves to Code," comes in. The McKinley Technology High School grad and current Pace University information systems first-year student has been in STEM since early high school. She does have internships at the Department of Commerce, Everfi and Microsoft under her belt.
"During all of my internships, I saw that there was a lack of women and minorities in STEM. Practically all of my internships, I was one of the few women—and I was just an intern, I wasn't an actual employee," Alston told DC Inno. "So, I just want girls to know that they can choose any career they want despite their gender and race."
She launched her Kickstarter on Jan. 15 with a $5,000 goal, and within four days she met that goal. As of Tuesday, she's raised about $8,000 from 178 backers, which Alston said will go towards creating more illustrations; covering the final production, printing and distribution costs; sending rewards to her backers and paying the Kickstarter fees.
"I didn't expect to reach the goal that quickly at all," Alston said. "I was completely shocked. My mom and I were home, checking it constantly. And I honestly didn't expect strangers to donate."
The book follows the main character, Sasha Tech Savvy, a "super smart" 10-year-old African-American girl who lives in D.C. with her dad, who is a chef; her mom, who is a computer software developer; and older brother, Savion Savvy. Sasha Tech Savvy and her friends all attend coding camp together, and, of course, get frustrated when their code doesn't work like it should. The book, Alston says, is based on her experiences with learning how to code.
"I didn't become real to me until I saw the character. That really made me know 'Yep, this is about to happen,'" she said.
Alston started writing the book while she was a senior at McKinley, and it took her about two years to complete. So far, it's about 32 pages and details basic coding terms and phrases, and she plans to create both an e-book and a print version of the book.
"I'm trying to decide what the next steps are," Alston said. "I know that I want to make it into a TV show, and get a website, and just have dolls and a lot of products. That's where the rest of the money will go to."
Photo courtesy of Sasha Alston
