Supermodel Karlie Kloss Visits Webster University Gateway Campus to Encourage Young Coders

Supermodel, philanthropist and St. Louis-area native Karlie Kloss recently visited the Webster University Gateway Campus to drop in on one of her Kode with Klossy summer camps, which encourage young women to learn how to write computer code and enter the fields of computer engineering, programming and design.

“You all know how much I love our hometown of St. Louis,” Kloss said to the participating scholars in a video surprise she posted to her Instagram the first week of the camp. She went on to talk about the importance of their presence in science, technology and other fields where men have traditionally had more opportunities and visibility than women.

“If you can’t see it, you can’t be it,” Kloss said. “If you don’t see women in spaces, it’s harder to imagine yourself in those spaces.”

Kloss, who has taken coding classes herself, started the summer camps in 2015. The Webster Groves High School alumna designated St. Louis, along with New York and Los Angeles, as one of the first camp locations. Webster University's Gateway campus served as host before the pandemic and welcomed in-person students again this past June.  

Participation in the camps is free and scholars are chosen from a competitive application process. Since its inception, Kloss has expanded the camp to more than 25 locations across the country, offering roughly 1,000 young girls aged 13-18 a two-week, intensive summer opportunity to break into coding. Each participant learns the basics of numerous programming languages and has the chance to build a fully functioning app or website.

Successful alumnae have gone on to win scholarships and coding competitions, as well as add their experience to competitive college entrance applications.