Coding for Kids
Talk about cool careers! Cierra McDonald is a Principal Programming Manager Lead at Microsoft where she’s a game developer for Xbox, designing the features for Xbox Live Achievements & Gamerscore systems.
Considering young coders at Tynker are making games of their own, we were super-impressed with Cierra and wanted to learn more about her journey in tech. So, we’re very excited to feature her in our Women in STEM series, our first one of the new year!
Speaking to The Root, Cierra told them:
“There are innumerable opportunities for STEM folks to bring their know-how in areas such as Big Data, AR, VR and HCI to bear in the world of video games.”
Cierra started at Microsoft as a Software Development Engineer developing scripts and other code to fix bugs. There’s that magic word, code!
From there she moved on to programming and technical management roles working in areas such as fitness, privacy, and marketplace before moving into the gaming industry.
Games it is, but it’s clear she takes this role seriously as well. In an interview with Essence, Cierra, who they named one of their Future 10 black women In tech, said:
“For those whose passion is in art but who are still interested in pursuing a career in tech, games are a great place to make meaningful contributions to a larger vision.”
Cierra earned a Bachelor’s of Science in Computer Science (Engineering) from the University of Illinois where she was a member of the National Society of Black Engineers, Society of Women Engineers, and Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers.
Eight years later she went back to school at the University of Washington to get a Certificate in Game Design and she was on her way. . .
Speaking to AfroTech, a wealth-building platform for the Black community focusing on the technology sector, Cierra said:
“STEM is a major and standard part of society now; it’s built-in at the root of our daily lives. If you’re young and have an interest in science and math, society needs you to come work in STEM to help push us all forward.”
Cierra promotes diversity in the tech world, introducing the possibilities of a STEM career to the black community, part of which is her role as an organizer of a Blacks in Gaming event that brings together black tech innovators from around the world.
Truly an inspiration, we can’t wait to see what Cierra does next!
* Photo Credit: Cierra McDonald and Xbox
