Case Study: Fiona McCrae

2018-12-07

Codecraft Works became a Brevard Public Schools partner in 2014. Though this partnership is young, we’ve been lucky enough to work alongside a variety of talented teachers, interns, and employees. Their hard work and dedication mean the world to us, so we are starting a case study series. In this series, we will talk to community members past and present, and highlight how their work with Codecraft has positively affected their lives. We are so happy to know that our work matters. Thank you, for joining this community and supporting us each step of the way.

Fiona McCrae

Fiona McCrae is a college freshman at Northeastern University. There, she is pursuing a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in cybersecurity. Before she became a dutiful college student, she was a paid intern with Codecraft Works. Her interest in computer science didn’t begin with Codecraft; however, Codecraft Works helped Fiona build a stronger foundation for her future. She first heard about Codecraft through two of her friends’ mothers. They had volunteered with Codecraft’s summer camp the summer before Fiona’s freshman year of high school. So, she decided to get involved as well. “I first got involved the summer after 9th grade as a volunteer during summer camps,” said Fiona. “I had decided that it would be helpful to prepare me for AP Computer Science A, which I took in 10th grade.” Though Fiona started as a volunteer with our summer camps, she quickly became a highly involved member of the community. She was a member of Codecraft’s CyberPatriot team for two years. In her second year on the team—her senior year of high school—she served as the team’s captain. She was also officially hired as a summer lab instructor in her junior and senior years, and occasionally served as a substitute instructor during the school year.

Looking Ahead

Fiona gives credit to Codecraft for helping her discover her talents. “Codecraft helped me figure out that I was capable of coding, and that there was a lot more to it than just sitting at a desk and working on code,” Fiona said. “I was not sure what I [wanted to] study in college—or do career-wise—that would both interest me and give me job security and potential financial success, before I got more involved with Codecraft.” “My experiences there definitely shaped my decision to study Cybersecurity and my ability to justify spending extra to go out of state for college,” Fiona continued. Fiona’s involvement with Codecraft Works shows two things:

1. Codecraft Works is providing a valuable education for those interested in computer science.
2. There is a place for women in the cyber field, and Codecraft Works is doing their job to make women feel welcome and confident.

“My experiences [at Codecraft] definitely shaped my decision to study Cybersecurity,” said Fiona. Fiona says that Codecraft—specifically her CyberPatriot team—helped her with her leadership skills: an important skill for any person to have. She also states that Codecraft gave her a general feeling of preparedness for college. “In general,” said Fiona, “I don’t think I would be on the track I am now if it were not for Codecraft.” We loved having Fiona as an intern, and it is so nice for us to watch her succeed.