From building apps under tight deadlines to pursuing a degree in cybersecurity, Clare Dixon’s journey shows how early hands-on experience and teamwork can spark a lasting passion for technology.
Clare Dixon participated in Technovation from 4th through 10th grade (2014-2021) Today, she is a cybersecurity major at the University of Wisconsin Platteville, preparing to enter her junior year of college. Along the way, she has gained real-world experience through multiple internships in security and software engineering.
From Technovation Projects to Internships
Since graduating from high school, Clare has built hands-on experience in both cybersecurity and software engineering through internships and real-world projects. During high school, she was part of the Aspirations in Computing program and completed two technology summer internships at SPS Commerce. She later returned to the company as a security intern and is currently working as a software engineering intern at SPS Commerce.
She is especially proud of the wide range of projects she worked on through Technovation, which included apps focused on topics like babysitting and college searching. Outside Technovation, she has continued building both academic and personal projects. One standout was a Connect 4 web app built with TypeScript, where she designed the game logic and added customization features such as changing token, board, and background colors.
How Technovation Shaped Her Skills
While there weren’t specific tools that surprised her, Clare says Technovation’s 12-week timeline helped prepare her for the short, agile development cycles she now encounters in classes and internships. She also credits the program with building her love for programming with the user in mind.
She joined Technovation after her sister volunteered at an event and formed a team, and she quickly learned the importance of collaboration. She remembers sitting around a table with her teammates, discussing how each panel of their app would look and walking through functionality together. Through this process, she learned how to ask for help from teammates and mentors, stay on track with the timelines, and work through challenges as a group.
Lessons Learned Along the Way
Looking back, Clare wishes she has known earlier that it’s okay to fail and feel frustrated when coding. There were moments when bugs or errors felt discouraging, but she now recognizes that frustration is a normal part of the process, as long as you remain committed to finding a solution.
She also wants to challenge the idea that you have to already be skilled or deeply interested in STEM to belong. In her experience, STEM is a field that welcomes people who are simply curious and willing to learn, even if they’re starting with no prior knowledge.
Favorite Technovation Memory
Some of her favorite memories come from the final push before submission deadlines. She recalls the excitement of working up to the last minute, prioritizing a minimum viable product, and figuring out what truly needed to be done. One year, her team even finished early without having to rush, which gave them time to relax and enjoy their accomplishment.
Advice for Future Participants
For students who are unsure about joining Technovation, Clare offers simple advice: you’re not expected to know everything when you start. She learned Java for the first time through Technovation, beginning with tools like MIT App Inventor and Thunkable, using block-based coding before moving into more advanced programming. “It doesn’t have to be sophisticated,” she says. “You just have to believe in your product and have fun.”
From early app development to cybersecurity and software engineering internships, Clare Dixon’s story highlights how Technovation helps students build confidence, skills, and a foundation for future opportunities in tech.
✨ Inspired by Clare’s journey?
Technovation Girls Minnesota is open to all girls ages 8–18 who want to turn their ideas into impact. Whether you are new to coding or already exploring tech, this program gives you the chance to build apps, solve real-world problems, and gain lifelong mentors and teammates.