I began ORCSGirls during the Pandemic, and I loved it from the very beginning. ORCSGirls is such an inclusive environment where I could interact with other girls with similar interests as me. Coding became "cool" and I absolutely loved it. Since then, I've participated in many ORCSGirls classes, and all I can say if how great of a teacher Dr.Proffen is. He explains the material in a way that is easy to understand, engaging and has you leaving class feeling proud of what you've accomplished. I recommend ORCSGirls to any girl who is interested in STEM, I'm sure they would love it.
I have been volunteering with ORCS for over two years, and it’s been such a rewarding experience. I learn something new every time I volunteer, and it’s made me more excited to continue pursuing my undergraduate degree in electrical engineering.
I love ORCSGirls. Dr. Proffen is an amazing teacher and all the volunteers are always ready to help with whatever you need. These classes have helped spark a newfound love of technology. Thank you!
I’ve been involved with ORCSGirls as a student and as a volunteer for the past few years. I have to say that they’ve truly done an amazing job promoting STEM skills across the world. Their classes are really fun and engaging, and I love that they are offered for every level which makes it easy for participants and for volunteers. Dr.Proffen is an excellent educator and does an exceptional job of ensuring everyone is able to learn and succeed, even if it means staying after class and helping students 1 on 1. He is very enthusiastic, and I will never forget how kind he was when he took time out and mentored me for a personal App Development competition independent of ORCSGirls. Volunteering with ORCSGirls has been a very fulfilling experience, and I love that I’m able to interact with girls from all over the world and learn with them. I get to review and pick up new skills as a volunteer. The curriculum is really easy to follow and I often pass on the skills I have learned to others. The process of getting yourself registered to volunteer is really easy and overall I love the ease of everything! Thanks ORCSGirls and especially Dr. Proffen!
I love working with ORCSGirls and believe they are advancing academic interest in a very important field of work. Thomas Proffen is a wonderful teacher and it is inspiring to watch how he builds the students up and encourages them to explore and create. The topics taught are incredibly valuable for any student looking to learn computer science and the pace is suitable for a wide variety of skills. Computer Science is a very intimidating field of work and this organization does a great job of making it approachable and fun. Highly recommend!
I started attending ORCSGirls classes when I was in 5th grade, and they gave me a truly inspiring and amazing opportunity to learn about computer science in a fun, interactive way. They deeply inspired me to learn more about computer science. Now, I volunteer with ORCSGirls, and they do an incredible job of teaching and inspiring other middle school girls around the world. Their classes are amazing, and the girls always learn a tremendous amount and have a lot of fun! I am extremely grateful for the impact ORCSGirls has had, both on me and many other girls around the world.
Hi, I'm Thuviksa M, and ORCSGirls has been a huge change in my life, as my younger self loved science, computers, and that sort of stuff, but I never found the perfect resource for me to dive into those interests, that was only until my family and I moved into Oak Ridge, Tennessee, ORCSGirls home base, my dad saw a post on LinkedIn about an ORCSGirls camp, and signed me up. At the time I was very confused, but I am very grateful, now, that my dad found that LinkedIn post, because from that day I've been with ORCSGirls for more than a year, and I can confirm that I have had a lot of fun and learned a lot as a participant, and as a volunteer, I feel comfortable in the environment they provide. #ORCSGirlsTrulyRock!
Hi, My name is Alisha and I've been attending the ORCS Girls tech online sessions for more than a year now, both as a student and as a volunteer. The sessions are all absolutely amazing and truly enriching. I have learned so many skills I did not know before and definitely improved on things I already knew. The content shared and techniques we learn really help us in our daily endeavors and projects! ORCS Girls has even inspired me to now want to pursue a career in a STEM field and has ignited my passion for space exploration! I am so happy to be a part of the ORCS Girls sessions and I have no words to express how thankful I am to be a part of such an amazing organisation. ORCS Girls ROCKS!
Hello! I am Adriana, I have been taking ORCSGirls classes for a while now. I love ORCSGirls, they give you an opportunity to participate in fun, educational classes and they help you to find a future career. I really enjoy learning to to code websites using HTML and CSS, and learning how to code using Python and JavaScript, and ORCSGirls can teach you how to do that! And the best part about ORCSGirls is, even if you have no experience with technology, you can learn a lot from just one class! And everybody is so nice, and Dr.Proffen lets everyone to ask questions, share, and socialize. I love participating in ORCSGirls, and learning great curriculum!
From South Africa, I learned an American course on Javascript, CSS and HTML completely free! I must say, this was a priceless experience.
My daughter has attended several classes and camp with ORCS Girls and has loved, enjoyed and learnt a lot from each one of them. ORCS helped her to discover her new passion for Technology. Thank you for organizing online classes as we are from Moldova/Eastern Europe and this is a unique and great opportunity for my daughter to develop her Tech knowledge. We are very thankful to Dr. Proffen for acceptance and the energy and enthusiasm that he brings into the online learning process. Thank you Team ORCS Girls for this opportunity.
I started our not knowing anything, and now I have gained so much knowledge due to this organization. The people that volunteer here helped me get involved in FIRST Robotics and now as a high schooler I’m so greatful to have had the opportunity to participate in ORCSgirls.
My daughter has attended several classes with ORCS Girls and has loved, enjoyed and learnt from each one of them. Thank you Team ORCS Girls.
Dr. Proffen in amazing. With the pandemic we've taken many online classes run by various organizations. Orcsgirls are the best. We have a young girl interested in science and computers and she loves these classes. I admire someone at his level donating his free time teaching the next generation. Many of his teaching assistants are girls who took the classes previously and now they are helping teach the classes. I'm hard pressed to imagine a better organization. This is one of few bright spot resulting from the pandemic because living far away, we probably would have never been able to participate. Highly recommended.
ORCS Girls is a wonderful organization. The instructors and curriculum are top notch, and my daughter comes away from each class excited about coding and technology and learns so much! The camps, classes, and competitions have given her great confidence in what she can learn and accomplish in STEM.
Amazing organization! My daughter has attended several of their workshops and 2 of their camps. She absolutely loves everything that she has learned through these events. Thankful for this wonderful organization!
Hi my name is Nadia (NKCODING) , I'm from the UK and I really enjoy the orcs girls lessons. I think this is a great way to learn technology as we are in lockdown.
I am very thankful for this organization. My daughter has always been interested in computers but couldn't find anything out there for her. She has been taking different classes with Oak Ridge, Advanced Python being the last one, I can only say "impressive work". Each class is very well structured and well presented. Each volunteer is very encouraging and professional. My daughter is always excited to take one of their classes and at the end of each one she grows in confidence. My daughter pointed out the generosity of work, effort and talent from the volunteers, this organization has shown her the value of " genuine service to the community".
My daughter recently attended Advanced Python Camp. We are glad that we found this organization specific to girls and can vouch as one of a kind. Team was highly professional and the content was well structured (on par/above to any college level camp offered to High school students). Complete Hands on through out the Camp . I would recommend this program to any student who are serious in pursuing computer science . I sincerely thank the team for their time and effort.
My daughters recently attended one of the classes and had a wonderful learning experience!
I was impressed with the high level quality of materials and teaching that were provided! The class was well organized and fun!
As a parent, I was so pleased that my girls not only enjoyed the class but that I also received detailed materials about what they learned so they can continue to explore the topic.
My kids are very excited about taking future classes and participating in the upcoming coding club that is offered to class participants!
I am very thankful to have discovered this organization and I am very grateful to Dr. Proffen and his team for their time and dedication!
ORCS Girls is amazing. My daughter was introduced to computer science and robotics by this organization in 5th grade. After years of taking classes, she is now in high school and helps to lead classes and considering a career in computer science. ORCS Girls is life-changing, inspiring girls and giving them confidence to be leaders in computer science. I can’t recommend ORCS Girls any more highly.
This is an amazing way to learn about technology, for 5th - 9th graders! I take as many classes as possible and I overall love this program. I do recommend this to anyone who wants to learn how to code and more!
ORCS Girls is doing a great job of creating learning opportunities for girls. I am from Pakistan and they have provided my daughter with great learning opportunities and have encouraged her interest in STEM.
Especially thankful to Dr. Proffen and the energy and enthusiasm that he brings into the online learning process.
I have learned a tremendous amount from ORCSGirls as a participant and now volunteer. Their amazing classes greatly inspired me when I was in middle school. I live in a rural area without computer science classes, and I may never have even learned about programming without their amazing instruction. I am now a volunteer, and I continue to be incredibly amazed by ORCSGirls. When unable to host in-person classes because of COVID-19, they started online classes available that reached girls throughout the country. ORCSGirls has made an immense impact on me and so many others.
ORCS Girls classes ahve been paying off BIG TIME for my daughter as she has ventured into Virtual School. Her confidence level on her Chromebook is very high omparted to those of her peers. She has also been able to troubleshoot the many, many tech issues we've encountered this week. Her level of comfort in this format for learning is 100% because of the classes she's taken with ORCS, so thank you.
I have been aware of ORCSGirls every since I moved to the area. When the classes were moved online in March, I started volunteering. It has been a joy to teach and work with these bright young individuals, and it's very rewarding to see them pick up and succeed at new topics and skills. I'm super impressed with them!
I learned a lot participating and volunteering for ORCSGirls!! I made so many friends through their programs and can’t imagine where I’d be now if I’d never discovered them.
This was my second year volunteering at the camp, and I have been involved with ORCS Girls for quite a while now. I started attending ORCS Girls classes in middle school with some of my friends. I remember going in there not knowing what to expect, and coming out super excited to show my parents the code I wrote during the class. I had started robotics the year before, but the classes definitely made my interest in STEM skyrocket. After going to many classes throughout the course of middle school, I decided to volunteer at a few classes and of course, the camp. The girls, counselors, and directors were all super amazing to work with!!! Working with ORCS Girls to put on this camp has been such an awesome opportunity for me to share my skills and help young girls realize that can be learn and be involved in STEM. Anyone can. :)
I’ve volunteered with ORCS Girls multiple times, and each time more and more girls leave inspired and excited to be involved with computer science. I’ve also partnered with ORCS Girls to run a robotics camp for the past 2 summers, so I’ve seen the amazing impact ORCS Girls has on the community. This year, in-person classes were canceled, but that didn’t stop ORCS Girls. They quickly went online, providing classes for girls nationwide who would have been unable to attend if the classes were kept in person. Not only have they expanded their reach, but they’re also working hard to expand their curricula with more new classes. ORCS Girls continues to amaze and inspire me.
I have been volunteering with ORCSGirls for over a year, and in that time my respect for the organization has only grown. They do a really great job of inspiring young girls to pursue their passions in computer science and take on the challenges of learning.
With the pandemic shutting down many opportunities in our nation, ORCSGirls has adapted to an online model to continue providing their amazing classes.
I am very grateful for this organization and the impact it has made in my life.
I was once a student in these classes where I learned so much about different fields of computer science. Now I come back to volunteer and continue to learn and grow. The classes have expanded from 15 girls to 30 girls with regular students. The girls have so much fun and learn due to Dr. Proffen’s wonderful teaching style.
ORCS Girls is fantastic, and Thomas Proffen certainly has a gift for teaching! I've volunteered at many of the classes, and the girls always come away excited and with a new passion for computer science topics. I am thrilled to get to work with this great organization!
ORCS Girls is top notch! It has provided my daughter with great leaning opportunities and has encouraged her interest in STEM.
This is an amazing organization! My daughters have taken classes through them. In addition to learning coding and other skills, they have made friends, built their self confidence, and learned new ways to approach projects.
I just volunteered for the first time, and it was fun and rewarding. I learned a lot, right along with the girls and the other volunteers, plus we all had some fun and laughs getting to know just a little bit about each other. These classes will definitely provide the girls a good foundation for future studies in STEM. Thomas Proffen was a great mentor and teacher, humble, gentle, fun and knowledgeable. I will definitely volunteer again soon!
Dr. Proffen's passion and dedication to the community he serves is obvious in the time and energy he invests in this work. The activities are well-targeted for the age group, they are engaging, and they leave the participants with new skills and a sense of accomplishment.
There's no reason to take my word for it, though. Attend a session. Better yet, send your daughter. Watch how she and the other participants react as they build their own internet-connected device or program their own robot. Each face you see will remind you why you supported this fantastic organization.
I volunteered to help with a couple of the ORCSG workshops last spring. I was blown away with how engaged the middle school participants were! This is a fantastic organization providing opportunities for students to engage in learning about computers.
I volunteered several times and it has been a great learning experience for me as well! The girls always have a lot of fun and so have the volunteers. I had to stop volunteering because I moved and I am still sad about that.
I volunteered for several of the classes offered by ORCSGirls. The content is of incredibly high quality and taught so well I could tell the girls in every class were genuinely excited and were having lots of fun -- and so was I! In fact, I have since recommended the materials from the classes to several of my friends with kids -- all of the materials are conveniently shared on the ORCSGirls website for free. As a woman in computer science, I cannot overstate how much I appreciate the effort Thomas is putting into introducing girls to technology, I wish classes like these were available everywhere. From a volunteer perspective, every class has been fun and incredibly rewarding.
My daughter has attended over 30 of the phenomenal workshops offered by ORCS Girls. We live over an hour away, and I wait 3 hours for the class to end. I do so gladly and eagerly because the classes are that phenomenal. My daughter absolutely loves them. Mr. Proffen and the other volunteers are amazing. We are so grateful that he and they volunteer their time on Saturday mornings to help teach girls about technology. Thanks to their instruction and Mr. Proffen's mentorship, my daughter -- a homeschooled girl from a small town in Tennessee -- was a finalist in a national computer science competition for girls. Our only regret is that we cannot find something similar for our son.
I volunteered for the Micro-bit class and was very impressed with what is being offered and taught. The future is bright for girls in Science. I look forward to volunteering again.
The classes provided are excellent for introducing middle school girls to coding. Our daughter has attended several and has found them very informative as well as enjoyable. Thomas and the other volunteers provide superior teaching and experience from their fields of expertise. Thank you for providing such opportunities for gaining a broad introduction to computer science.