IMPOSTER

Cait Levin is an innovative educator, project manager, and leader of teams. She is skilled in instructional design, public speaking, accessible learning, and strategic management and growth. Cait earned a BA from Barnard College and an MA from Middlebury College. When she isn’t looking for ways to help women thrive in their writing, she likes to read, cook, and write fiction.

Cam’s story echoes the experiences of so many students who come through RoboNation programs, from RoboSub to SeaPerch, and everything in between. It’s about finding strength in the face of adversity, learning to lean on your community, and discovering that success isn’t just about winning a competition.  —Alicia Gavin, Director of Communications and Marketing at RoboNation

Imposter is emotionally resonant. Levin expertly captures the anxiety of the unfortunate realities of gender inequities in STEM balanced with the joy of friendship, the thrill of learning something new, and the triumph of taking a stand against injustice.  —Code.org

• What does Cam know about coding going into her Intro to Coding elective class?

• What is imposter syndrome? Why do you think this book’s title references imposter syndrome?

• What are some ways Cam is made to feel unwelcome, and how does she combat them?

• Cam learns a lot of STEM skills online and through social media. Have you ever learned a skill from a website or social media platform? What are some of the benefits and drawbacks of learning online versus in person?

• Why do some people think Cam’s parents are a “mismatch”? How does Cam’s racial and cultural background inform this story?

• Some characters in this book make references to pop culture, such as Game of Thrones. What do these references tell you about the characters? Are there any references you didn’t get?

• Cam describes her parents as “aggressively supportive.” What are some of the ways they support Cam in this book? Do you think they always get it right?

• Look up some of the organizations, such as DECA and Girls Who Code, named in this book. What are the missions of these organizations? Why do you think the author chose to reference real-life organizations?

• How does Cam explain the difference between various coding languages? Do you know any coding languages? If you were interested, where could you learn more about how to code?

• What are some of the skills Viv has learned from DECA that she uses to solve problems in this book? Are there skills you’ve learned from a club or other activity that you use in your daily life?

• How do Viv and Cam get on the RoboSub team despite Jeremy’s sabotage? Why do you think it is possible for one student to almost block two others from joining the team? What changes would you make to the MacArthur High School club sign-up system to prevent students from discriminating against each other in this way?

• How do Cam and Jackson put their skills and areas of interest together to create their end-of-semester project? What gets Jackson on board with the idea of combating gender discrimination in STEM professions? How does their game address this problem? What kind of game would you design to solve a problem? What features would your game have?

• What are some of the features Cam can control in the Girls Who Code character creator tool? Why is it important to Cam to create a female character who looks like a regular person?

• Why did Cam stop playing video games as she got older? What does she think would have helped her stay interested in gaming?

• What are some gamer terms that Jackson uses? Are you familiar with these terms? Are you part of a community that uses specialized language like gamers do?

• Viv is a very supportive friend. How does Cam support her in turn? Have you supported a friend or been supported through a difficult time? What are some words and actions in this story that make a difference when one or the other of the friends is struggling?

• How does Cam feel about Viv secretly messaging Jackson on battle.net? What about the time the two friends catfished a classmate in seventh grade? Would you go along with a social media deception like this? Is there ever a reason good enough to justify it? If you weren’t comfortable going along with it, like Cam is uncomfortable, what would you do or say to get out of it?

• How does Ms. Newberry’s support make a difference in this book? Do you think Cam and Viv could have solved their problems without a supportive teacher?

• Workplace harassment is a recurring theme in this book. How does Cam’s mother handle a case of harassment in her workplace? What pushes her to change her approach? What strategy is ultimately effective in removing the harasser?

• Why does Cam think Matt’s apology in chapter thirteen is not enough? How does Matt’s behavior change after this apology?

• Why didn’t Cam let her parents make a complaint about Mr. Lenox before chapter seventeen? What strategies do Cam and Jackson use in their meeting with Principal Carter? If you needed to resolve a complaint with your school, how would you go about it?

• Why do you think it takes so long for Matt and some of the other boys in Intro to Coding and RoboSub to speak up against Jeremy? Have you ever had to speak up when a peer said or did something inappropriate? Has someone else ever spoken up for you? What makes it hard to speak out sometimes, and how can you find a way to stand up for others when it feels hard?

• How does the RoboSub competition work? Would you say Cam’s team does well overall? How do Cam and Viv contribute to the team’s success?