Sloane Miller isn’t your average college freshman. For one thing, she has already interned at Google’s Computer Science Summer Institute (CSSI) and at Microsoft, where she worked with the High School Education (EDU) Products team. Now, she’s majoring in computer and information Sciences with a minor in game modelling and design at North Carolina A&T State University. She is also a 2020-2021 ESA Foundation Computer and Video Game Arts and Sciences Scholar.
Miller, who hails from the state of Washington, has long been passionate about making video games and coding technology accessible, especially for kids from disadvantaged communities. In high school, she served as a student teaching assistant for Girls Who Code, where she helped teach STEM to girls in grade 7-12. She also founded Kid Tech Express, a tech club that teaches computer literacy and coding fundamentals to students in underserved communities by recruiting volunteers, securing technology donations and running informational booths at community events.
These days, Miller works with ChickTech and Black Girls CODE, which uses workshops, events and programs to encourage girls and young women to learn STEM skills and pursue careers in technology industry, including video games.
Miller has been a big fan of video games and technology since childhood. Growing up, she would play Pokémon and Minecraft to stay connected with friends and family in other states. Since then, she’s formed strong, long-lasting friendships through games like Overwatch and Splatoon 2.
“Video games are more than entertainment,” Miller says. “They are a method to connect and showcase our skills and creativity over shared interests.”
Bringing people together and inspiring them to create a better world motivates Miller to be a video game developer. Her dream job? Working at Nintendo as a software development engineer so that she can help launch a line of video games featuring a more diverse range of characters.
Learn more about the ESA Foundation and its current scholars here: https://esafoundation.org/
