How to Walk That Stage With Girls Who Code Swag

Hello there! I’m Stacy Phan, an alumni from the at Pixar in 2015 and a current for the 2016 Summer Immersion Program at GE. I recently graduated from San Leandro High School and I wanted to make sure that I was representing everything I care about around my neck as I accepted my diploma…especially Girls Who Code. So, I created my very own Girls Who Code stole. 

If you’re like me and want to show off your status as a girl who codes at graduation - it could be your Summer Immersion Program graduation or even a future high school or college graduation - follow the steps below to create you own DIY Girls Who Code stole!

1. Design your stole.

I drew out different designs until I settled on one that I really liked. I included the Girls Who Code logo, the name of the Summer Immersion Program I did, and “<b> woman </b>.”

2. Find a customization vendor.

I contacted a local customization shop in my city to see what the costs would be to create my design.

3. Order your stole.

I ordered a (it comes in tons of different colors).

4. Finalize the customization.

After receiving the stole, I went to the customization store to show them my design and figure out if embroidery or vinyl print would be best. We ended up going with vinyl just because the stole I got was pretty thin satin and I didn’t want the embroidery to go through and show on the other side. I had a friend digitize my paper design on Adobe Illustrator so that the people making my stole could use it for the vinyl print.

5. Show off your stole at graduation!

After 1.5 days, I had a personalized Girls Who Code stole - just in time for graduation!

Here are some additional tips and tricks that I wish I had followed to make the process easier:

1. Plan ahead.

I did not plan ahead, and had to pay an extra $4 for rush shipping. Also, digitize your design sooner than later. Whether it’s you or a friend who is doing it, make sure you finish up your design in advance so you can speed up the process of having the stole made.

2. Group order.

When you order in bulk, usually the order will be cheaper if the design is all the same. If you were all from the same summer program, the shop making your stoles might be willing to give you a discount. Or, if you decide not to put the name of your specific Summer Immersion Program, you could get more than twenty girls in on the order and it will definitely be cheaper overall.

3. Add your name.

This will increase the cost if you have it done at the store, but if you go to Michaels, they have iron-on embroidery and then you can make your stole even more customized and personal.

4. Add decorations.

I didn’t really have time to do this, nor did I particularly want to just because I wanted a very simple look. However, if you want to spice up your stole a bit, get a hot glue gun and drop by and there are a ton of things you could get to decorate your stole: fake flowers, rhinestones, glitter, ribbon, and more!

Do you want to learn to code and join Stacy and 10,000 other girls who code? near you!