Karlie Kloss' Kode With Klossy Expands To 50 Tech Camps In 25 Cities For 1000 Girls Wanting To Code

Karlie Kloss, left, shot an iPhone video to promote her Kode With Klossy camp for teenage girls this summer. CreditGeorge Etheredge for The New York Times

“Beyond just wanting to hang out with you guys, I want you to be a part of our big announcement,” supermodel Karlie Kloss told the four young alumnae of her Kode With Klossy coding camp. “You’re the reason we want to keep growing this.”

Karlie was referring to the coding camp she launched in a simple way in 2015 to inspire girls to learn to code and consider careers in tech. Before shooting a 45-second video, Kloss went around the room asking what her four young protégées had been up to since last summer. The New York Times was on hand to record the answers. 

Valeria Torres-Olivares, 18, from Princeton, N.J., was first to speak. She was accepted to Princeton University, where she’ll major in computer science. The room erupted into cheers. She also talked about the coding class she started at the Princeton Public Library with her younger sister Kyara, 14, a fellow camper.

“We made it girls-only so our students would have an environment they feel safe in,” Ms. Torres-Olivares said. “When boys are in the classroom, it’s harder.”

Another camper, Hope Dunner, 19, had completed a computer science internship at Microsoft. Victoria Johnston, 17, finished an internship at Viacom and now wants to use coding to pursue activism. “I’m creating a documentary series that combines fashion and personal stories, like what makes you different and unique,” Ms. Johnston said. “I’m also learning to come out of my shell.”

Karlie Kloss learned to code in a two week camp in Lower Manhattan, where she was introduced to the software program Ruby. The  next year, Kloss launched her own coding scholarship program at the Flatiron School, an initiative that has since expanded to 50 camps in 25 cities. This summer 1,000 girls will learn basic HRML/CSS, Ruby and JavaScript, virtual reality programs, gaming and even artificial intelligence. 

Interviewed by Caroline Tell, Kloss volunteers that she's not on the outs with Tarylor Swift but stresses her close relationship with Serena Williams. Both Karlie and Serena sit on the board of Oath, the Verizon subsidiary that owns AOL, Yahoo and other digital content brands.  “Serena is one of the most extraordinary women on the planet,” Ms. Kloss said. “She challenges the status quo in so many ways, and I learn from her constantly.”

Karlie brushes off questions about her longtime boyfriend, Joshua Kushner, a progressive Democrat venture capitalist and founder of the health insurance start-up Oscar Health. Kushner built the company around the launch of Obamacare. 

Kushner's older brother is Jared Kushner, and there is no discussion on this topic. Both Karlie and Joshua attended the 2017 Women's March and they support the upcoming March 24 March for Our Lives, the nationwide protest against gun violence organized by teen survivors of the Valentine's Day 2018 Parkland, Florida high school shooting. Joshua Kushner reportedly donated $50,000 to March for Our Lives.