That's awesome to hear about your friend!  I'm a female geek and proud of it   I'd love to go back for my masters in Software Engineering (great program nearby for it), but I need to convince my husband that we can handle it if I go back to school.  From what everyone tells me, my love of computers started when one of my uncles let me (back when I was like 2 or 3, I think) sit with him while he was on his computer.  I don't remember that but I do remember getting excited about them later on and really picking up programming as if it were something natural to me. 

While in high school, I picked up more skills and looked into my future in computing. (So much for my original dream of becoming a clarinetist in the Cleveland Orchestra!)  I knew that the computing industry would be male-dominated and definitely a challenge.  However, I accepted that and didn't let it intimidate me.  To this day, I do what I do because I love it and I don't let the naysayers who think females don't belong in computing bother me - they don't know what they're talking about.