sheCodes represents underrepresented students in computer science

By Brandon Bocanegra, October 27, 2026

Building 8 is home to many STEM classes and groups at Cal Poly Pomona. Within it is a group of women in computer science who have built a community for each other to learn and grow within their field. 

sheCodes is CPP’s Association for Computing Machinery-Women chapter which supports underrepresented students in computer science through community building, mentorship, professional development and outreach opportunities, according to current club President and computer science student Hasti Abbasi Kenarsari. 

In its 11th year at CPP, the club currently has close to 100 members, according to Kenarsari. While it is free to join, the club offers a paid membership that costs $20 per semester or $25 for both fall and spring. This helps fund the semester-long project, club mentorship and a branded T-shirt for students, according to Kenarsari.  

“The only reason we have that is so we can make the experience better for our members,” Kenarsari said. “Any funds that come to our club basically go back to the members.” 

The club’s biggest exclusive paid membership program is the semester-long project where groups of students tackle tasks of their choosing, ranging from intro to electronics to software and game development. Each team is given 10 weeks to finish its project before presenting the SLP to other participants, CPP professors and a panel of people within the computer science industry. 

Internal vice president and computer science student Sarah Huynh highlighted a game development SLP called “Builder Beavers,” a 2D pixel tower defense game. According to Huynh, the panel and members were impressed with the group’s creation, calling the demo level highly detailed and thought out. 

“I could see a lot more potential past the SLP Demo Day,” Huynh said. “If they wanted to as a team, they could keep working on this project and add on to it.” 

According to Huynh, previous groups have proceeded with their project after the demo day concluded. She highlighted seeing the skills members have developed throughout the semester and how they attributed to the final product. 

Huynh attended the club’s first general meeting of 2023 and recalled the room being packed. She met Kenarsari during that meeting and saw how impactful the club was for the campus. 

“Becoming a leader of something I was really passionate about really stuck to me,” Huynh said. “Being part of the impact on these members and advocating some of the things I want to add to these events.” 

sheCodes holds weekly meetings Thursdays during U-hour in Building 8, Room 4 that consist of guest speakers, workshops and social events. Recent guest speakers have been members of large tech companies like Apple, Google and Microsoft. 

This year the club also brought back coding sessions, which are held in person and through Zoom by the current webmaster and computer and data science student, Shuvashree Basnet. Coding sessions are short but informative introductions into coding software that give members free help from board members.

Meeting times and topics are posted to the club’s official Instagram page and are updated on the monthly calendar on its website. 

Computer science student Jeannette Ruiz’s previous school had a computer science club made up of 30 members with only three women. Because of that, Ruiz said she felt intimidated to return to meetings after only attending one and started questioning her career path. But, after finding sheCodes at the club fair, her perspective changed. 

“I feel more confident in my career choice and more confident to ask questions because I know there are smart women here with me,” Ruiz said.  

Huynh, as well as other members, noticed the women in her classes naturally group together toward a back corner of classrooms because being in a predominantly male field can be intimidating. sheCodes has provided a space for women and underrepresented groups to share similar experiences, she said. 

Since joining, Kenarsari wanted to continue the work and legacy the club built for itself. According to Kenarsari, she started with volunteering and later became a board member because she said she genuinely cared and was passionate for what sheCodes had to offer. 

“Having a community that’s all women and underrepresented students has been really helpful in terms of feeling supported and I’ve also seen it in the industry in my previous internship where the women made up less than a third of the entire cohort,” Kenarsari said. “It’s also preparing for something that we will see outside of undergrad, so I think having a community that supports you is really important.”