Antoinette Stevens isn’t your average Des Moines computer professional. She’s a somewhat insecure yet driven 22-year-old Georgian who moved to Des Moines to take a job with Principal Financial Group Inc., founded Black Urban Professionals of Des Moines, created a nonprofit in part to teach adults how to survive in a cybersecurity-challenged world and is quickly becoming a fixture in Des Moines’ young professional circles. 

At the same time, she’s too familiar a story when it comes to women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. Her parents told her that she couldn’t go into computer work — like her brothers — because she was a girl. Stevens chose not to listen, picking up what she could from the rest of the family, but still faced challenges in high school, where young women weren’t well-represented in tech subjects. 

Stevens powered through those stereotypes — and her own doubts — to launch a career in computer science, we discovered in an interview. We also found out she’s a good dancer, an OK singer and a lousy instrumentalist. 

What got you interested in computer science?
Ooo, that’s a fun one. So when I was in middle school, my two older brothers were in a program where they would work on computer hardware. My parents wouldn’t let me do it because I was a girl. So I kind of got a love of technology almost like a trickle-down effect from my brothers. As I entered high school, I went away from it because if no one is there to nurture it, then you kind of lose that passion. I actually started college as a pre-business major. I took a computer science class to fill a requirement and ended up loving it. I thought, “Why did I ever give this up?” I switched my major to all the terrible hard math classes, and here I am.

People talk about girls turning away from STEM careers in middle school and high school. What was your experience?
I am super-typical. That’s why I fight so hard for STEM technology in schools. I teach “Girls Who Code” at Central Academy on Wednesdays. And I’m always trying to encourage them to seek out things in tech. It doesn’t mean you have to grow up and be the greatest computer science person ever. I think the message there is if you are passionate about something, don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do it. And don’t let anyone tell you that it’s not for you. I let people tell me that computer science wasn’t cool and that it wasn’t cool to like math. 

Were they saying it wasn’t cool, or were they saying that girls don’t belong in those fields? Something else?
(They were saying) it’s a boy thing. Sometimes it’s not even what you hear; it’s what you see. So maybe you have heard the term “representation matters.” If you walk in a room and it’s all men, it can be very intimidating. For some girls, it can be one of those situations where you feel like you don’t belong, even though no one has necessarily said it to you. 

What do you think of the proposal to require computer science at least in high school?
My dad is an educator. He works in the school system in Georgia, so I try to be very in tune on how curricula change. I’ve seen the computer science curricula for a lot of schools. Sometimes they make it too intense. Sometimes they have them do things that aren’t that age-appropriate, and it turns them away. I do think it’s important to at least give students the option. Requirement, I think, is a strong word. Walk before you run. Who is going to teach these classes? What are they going to teach?

What made you want to teach “Girls Who Code”?
I think it’s important for students to understand the way the technology around them works. I feel this class is the perfect opportunity for them to experience that. Along with the “Girls Who Code” material, I do something called civilian computer science, where I teach them just things you should know as a person living in a world of tech. They are not necessarily super-technical things. They are things like “read your privacy policy on your app.” Like “understand what companies are doing with your data, and why you should have strong passwords.” What it means to be hacked. The girls are very interested in it. It’s after school, and there are 17 girls.

What is Reboot Iowa Inc.?   
That is a nonprofit that I am starting to educate adults in computer science. I want them to be able to get jobs from it. Since I’m targeting adults, and some who have minimum wage jobs and may work at night, it will be a lab once a week and the rest will be online. When you come in, it’s heads down and doing coding. We will probably launch next January. I am working on a curriculum that I will lease out to other nonprofits to do similar programs. 

What will you charge for the class?
The price point now is $500 based on several factors. I won’t pay myself a salary. But I factored in that I might pay someone else to teach it. 

Why did you want to pursue the class?
I had several reasons. A lot of people missed the big tech boom. In the early ‘80s, Apple came out with the Apple II. The price point was reasonable. They marketed it to boys and men. They had a few commercials where a guy is standing by a woman who is working on a computer and he says, “Are you typing your grocery list?” And she says, “No, I’m doing accounting for a business.”

That one was good. But for that one, there were 10 others that targeted men. Parents would buy this PC for their boys because it was a “boys’ toy.” It was a black box that no one knew what was going on. Then in the last decade, people said, “You should be paying attention to this.” Because you had people like (Facebook Inc. CEO) Mark Zuckerberg getting rich and all these apps coming out. And computer science became much more accessible. There is a whole generation of people who missed this tech boom and no longer understand the world around them. I don’t think that’s fair.

What your goal with the class?
I think people should understand how Facebook works, understand how their phone works, understand how Wi-Fi works, and they just don’t. That can be very scary, because the world is going to continue to get more tech savvy.

What is the other organization you are involved with?
It’s Black Urban Professionals of Des Moines. It started in August. We try to do one event a month. I am trying to figure out how to retain membership, which is difficult. Just getting people to come out is hard. We draw about 15 to events. The Facebook page has about 100 members..

What were you trying to address with this organization?
I want a network of people who look like me, who have shared experiences, whom I can go to talk to and share experiences with. How can I make it better? What can I do that will bring people together, other than happy hour once a month? I’m trying to create a community of black professionals in the area.

What makes you tick?
I am motivated. I am happiest when I am busy. I do not like being idle. I always like to look at the big picture. I want to make an impact. What is the point of being here, taking up space on Earth if it never meant anything? I want people to say, “She tried to make a difference.”

Is it hard for you to unplug from the computer stuff?
No. (Laughs.) I enjoy a good nap. I am trying to not be that person who is always touching the phone. Millennials already get a bad rap. I try to fight all those stereotypes. People say we all think we are entitled. But I don’t think the world owes me anything. 

What are your activities outside work? 
In school, I was pretty active in the startup community in Athens, Ga. I started working with a T-shirt company there called umano. I taught myself Web design through them. They were just on “Shark Tank.” I dance. 

Do you play a musical instrument?
(Laughs.) I played them all. My dad is a pianist and directs several choirs. I played piano and hated it. I played the trumpet. I played the violin. I played the guitar. I failed miserably at all of them. I do sing. I don’t think I’m that great, but I can sing to myself and not want to tear my ears out. 

How do you do with failure?
I am my toughest critic. Even at work now, I am surrounded by people who I believe are the smartest people I have ever met. I think they are true geniuses. I have people who didn’t finish high school and taught themselves everything they know, and I admire that so much. Then there’s me. I just finished my one-year anniversary with this company, and I’ve only been on their team for a few months. So I am constantly doubting myself. I am constantly afraid that I will say the wrong thing and make myself sound dumb. I am constantly afraid I will do something wrong and fail at it. Because I never want to be the weakest link. When people say, “No, you’re doing great,” it’s hard for me to accept that.

What do you like about yourself? 
When I think about what I like — and it’s hard because middle school was rough — it is that I have a bunch of insecurities about myself, but I still do things. I power through them and do things that I want to do.