techcrunch.com – Karlie Kloss made headlines last year when she announced she was not only a high-ranking model but could also code in Ruby.
Kloss, who says she’s always been interested in math and science, started learning to program a couple of years ago.
The supermodel partnered with the Flatiron School in New York City last year to launch #KodewithKarlie, a scholarship program for teen girls.
The supermodel is now starting Kode With Klossy, a coding summer camp for girls ages 13-18. The two-week camp will provide scholarships to 80 young women from New York, Los Angeles and Karlie’s hometown of St. Louis, Missouri.
Kloss chatted with me recently about why she decided to pick up the coding trade, how that plays out in her supermodel world and why she decided to launch a camp for young women interested in programming.
TC: You’re a supermodel with an ultra-successful career in the fashion industry. Why learn to code? What’s the story behind wanting to do that?
KK: I grew up in St. Louis and didn’t really know anything about fashion until I walked in a charity fashion show at my local mall and was signed to a modeling agency. Before my modeling career took off, I really loved my math and science classes in school. My dad was an ER doctor and as a girl, I dreamed of following in his footsteps. Taking coding classes brings me back to the excitement I felt as a kid in first-period biology. I’m a curious person and coding allows me to think about how our world is built.
Want to receive earlybird invitations to our global events, custom-tailored content we think you’ll love, and get exclusive access to “The World Women Report”?
