What MARS Feels Like from the Inside
A student’s perspective on community, confidence, and finding your place in tech
Introduction:
Sometimes the most powerful way to understand MARS is to hear about it through the eyes of a student.
So I did just that.
I asked one of our girls to write about MARS—not as a program, not as a school, but as a place. A place she experiences once a week in person, and carries with her far beyond that one day.
What she wrote is honest, thoughtful, and deeply reflective of what we hope MARS feels like for every learner who walks through our doors.
This student is a powerhouse. She’s a natural leader and truly the heart of our class. She shows up with curiosity, empathy, and courage—and she brings others with her.
I’m incredibly grateful she was willing to share her perspective so openly.
Thank you, Aleks, for trusting me with your words and for sharing MARS through your eyes.
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A Girl’s Perspective on MARS
When you walk into MARS, it doesn’t look like some futuristic tech lab from a movie.
No glowing screens everywhere. No robots are rolling around. Just a room. A normal room.
But if you’ve been here long enough, even just once a week like we are, you start to feel something different about it.
It’s the energy.
The people.
The way the room feels calm but focused, like everyone showed up ready to build
something real.
It’s subtle, but it’s real.
And if I had to describe what I’ve noticed most this year, it would be this:
Community and unity.
But let me slow down for a second.
People ask me what MARS is like, and honestly, it’s kind of hard to explain. We only
meet once a week in person, but still communicate throughout the week online, so you’d
think it wouldn’t make that big of an impact. But somehow, it does. Somehow, that one
day in person feels like a reset, like stepping into a space where you can actually
breathe and think and be yourself without feeling judged or rushed.
Trying to explain that in one sentence… yeah, that’s not happening.
So let me start here.
This is what a tech school looks like when people actually care about each other.
When you walk in, you don’t just see students. You see people who show up for each
other. People who celebrate your wins and don’t disappear when things get tough.
People who treat your ideas like they matter, because they do.
And as a girl in MARS, I notice that unity in ways that feel personal.
Tech spaces don’t always have a lot of girls. That’s just the truth. And honestly, we need
more. More girls building things. More girls coding. More girls designing. More girls
leading. More girls taking up space in rooms where we’ve been told, directly or
indirectly, that we don’t belong.
But here’s the thing about MARS:
I’ve never felt out of place here.
There’s this balance we’re always trying to figure out being confident without feeling like
we’re “too much,” being quiet without feeling like we’re “not enough,” trying to lead
without overthinking every little thing. But in this space, that balance feels easier. It feels
supported.
MARS doesn’t force community. It builds it through the way we work.
We collaborate.
We problem‑solve.
We share ideas.
We fail, fix it, and try again.
We laugh…a lot.
And we grow, not separately, but side by side.
Even though we’re only together once a week, those moments add up. They matter.
They change you.
I’ve watched people dive into projects because they’re genuinely curious, not because
someone told them to. I’ve seen students help each other without being asked. I’ve
seen ideas turn into real things that include websites, stories, robots, designs, all
because someone said, “Go for it.”
And that’s the thing about MARS.
It’s not loud.
It’s not flashy.
It’s not trying to be anything other than what it is.
It’s a place where you learn how to trust yourself.
Where you learn how to trust others.
Where you learn how to speak up, even when your voice shakes.
Where you learn that unity isn’t something you talk about…it’s something you build.
So what are we doing here?
We’re learning how to be more responsible.
We’re learning how to be confident.
We’re learning how to be ourselves…fully and honestly.
And we’re learning how to do all of that together.
This is the MARS I know.
The MARS I’ve lived.
The MARS that has shown me what a community can look like when it’s real.
And the MARS that needs more girls…girls who want to build, create, lead, and take up
space in tech.
And even though it’s only once a week in person, that one day has become one of the
most meaningful parts of my entire year
Written by a MARS student for Tanya’s Substack.