When Gira Chawda spotted a sticker on a laptop at a ninth-grade coding boot camp, she had no idea it would impact the course of her life.
That small, unassuming sticker set her on a path to becoming a public speaker, an award-winning student, an educational programmer, a mentor, a high-performing intern and a social media influencer – all by the age of 19.
The sticker? It read, “Dev Degree Shopify.”
Now in her second year pursuing a bachelor of applied science in digital technologies at York University’s Markham Campus, Chawda is a dev degree intern at Shopify and a standout in her cohort, earning both a recent provincial and national recognition.
Shopify's Dev Degree program is a unique, work-integrated learning experience that blends a computer science degree with hands-on experience.
“Gira is known for her commitment to collaboration and community impact,” says Jenny Peach-Squibb, professional skills coach at the Markham Campus. “She navigates demanding academic content, fosters meaningful peer connections and passionately promotes work-integrated learning.”
Her outstanding achievements – including professional excellence, community involvement and contributions to work-integrated learning (WIL) initiatives – earned her the 2024 WIL Student of the Year Award from Experiential & Work-Integrated Learning Ontario (EWO). She also received an honourable mention for the 2024 Co-operative Education and Work-Integrated Learning Canada (CEWIL Canada) Emery-Dufault Student of the Year Award, recognizing her leadership and innovation.
“I was so happy to earn this award,” says Chawda. “I feel like it's so important to know that you are doing well, and I’m happy the program itself is being recognized because it’s such an important way to learn.”
As part of the 80/20 program at Markham, Chawda spends 80 per cent of her time at Shopify, and 20 per cent at school. This balance allows her to apply academic knowledge directly to her role as a software engineer intern, where she has made significant contributions, including enhancing back-end functionality and assisting in the development of the Shopify Plus program.
She praises the Markham Campus for its modern facilities and supportive faculty and describes the program developed by York’s Lassonde School of Engineering as “revolutionary.”
“I’m very much a hands-on learner, and I feel that I learn by doing,” says Chawda. “There's a depth of learning that you get in this program, and I’ve experienced that. Sometimes theories that I learn in the classroom, or that I learn about in a meeting at work, I'm able to apply in my role at Shopify and make connections as to why it's important.”
Lassonde Dean Jane Goodyer says Chawda’s trajectory shows what’s possible when you remove barriers and give young women meaningful opportunities to apply their learning in real-world settings.
“Her success reflects exactly why we created this program – she’s leading, launching ideas and lifting others as she goes,” says Goodyer. “Our Digital Technologies program is Canada’s first fully work-integrated degree, and with 100 per cent of our students having their employment contracts renewed, it’s clear the model is working.”
The program, she adds, is always looking to grow its network of industry partners who want to invest in the next generation of tech talent.
However, even before starting the Digital Technologies program in 2023, Chawda was making an impact in mentorship and digital education. Inspired by that first coding boot camp, she launched “Cracking the Code” during the pandemic, offering free coding lessons and workshops to aspiring programmers.
At age 14, she began to share her programming journey on YouTube and TikTok, quickly amassing a large following. She has since inspired others through public speaking engagements – including the “Confessions of Women in STEM” podcast, Shopify’s internal radio show, Shopify Lightning Talks – and through her role as a Shopify science and technology mentor.
Her leadership and drive have also made her the youngest project champion at Shopify’s 2024 Summit Hackdays, where employees and interns host a 48-hour event to spark new, innovative ideas.
For Chawda, the awards and recognition validate her hard work and the power of blending education with industry experience. But her greatest area of growth, she says, wasn’t technical – it was personal.
Despite her early success, she initially struggled with confidence and imposter syndrome at Shopify, questioning whether she belonged in such a high-stakes environment.
“With mentorship, perseverance and an incredible support system, I learned to embrace the opportunity,” she says. “Now, I want to help other young women find their place in tech.”
Looking ahead, Chawda envisions staying at Shopify until graduation, but her long-term goal is to launch her own startup, using technology to solve real-world challenges.
“I don’t know exactly what the future holds,” she says, “but I do know I want to make a difference. I just want to solve a problem in the world.”