What a whirlwind trip I had to Baltimore for the 2012 Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing! It has been a little over a week since I got back and my head is still spinning.
The purpose of this conference, which is put on by the Anita Borg Institute, is to encourage and support women to choose careers in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields. Both organizations celebrate the unrelenting passion of their name sakes (Grace and Anita) to further the advancement of women in technology. It was incredibly inspiring to stand "on the shoulder" of these giants in the field: to know that their hard work has opened so many doors for me and my cohort.
I was lucky enough to get a scholarship from the Anita Borg Institute to come - and I did my best to represent my fellow Systers.
The conference had something for everyone: there were tracks for undergraduates, graduate students, and professional women. There were research talks on cutting edge technologies and panels on how to navigate through your career. There was even a three day long career fair running throughout the entire event. If anything, my one complaint was there was almost TOO much to do and I was overwhelmed with all the options I had to choose from.
But it wasn't all just work: it was a blast getting to catch up with old friend and make new connections.
I got to see my mentor from this summer, Nadyne Richmond (second from the left), present on a panel about how to influence without Authority. The big take away: always know your audience! Persuasion is not hard if you can empathize and understand what their perspective is.
Not to mention all the amazing fried-crab-inspired food options.
All in all it was an amazing trip that I will strongly recommend to all the first-years at SI. This conference is about more than just saying that diversity in technology is important .... this conference makes you feel the power of how much women can contribute to STEM fields. It is a shot in the arm to anyone whose felt frustrated or discouraged that they weren't good enough: this experience is about reminding you that you can do anything you set your mind to!
The purpose of this conference, which is put on by the Anita Borg Institute, is to encourage and support women to choose careers in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields. Both organizations celebrate the unrelenting passion of their name sakes (Grace and Anita) to further the advancement of women in technology. It was incredibly inspiring to stand "on the shoulder" of these giants in the field: to know that their hard work has opened so many doors for me and my cohort.
I was lucky enough to get a scholarship from the Anita Borg Institute to come - and I did my best to represent my fellow Systers.
The conference had something for everyone: there were tracks for undergraduates, graduate students, and professional women. There were research talks on cutting edge technologies and panels on how to navigate through your career. There was even a three day long career fair running throughout the entire event. If anything, my one complaint was there was almost TOO much to do and I was overwhelmed with all the options I had to choose from.
But it wasn't all just work: it was a blast getting to catch up with old friend and make new connections.
At the Maryland Science Center to celebrate Syster's 25th anniversary
This year's conference was sold out with 3600 participants - which is amazing considering that just 10 years ago the conference only had 500 participants.
I got to see my mentor from this summer, Nadyne Richmond (second from the left), present on a panel about how to influence without Authority. The big take away: always know your audience! Persuasion is not hard if you can empathize and understand what their perspective is.
There were also a lot of great photo opportunities. This one is of me and my SI friend Andrea having fun in the Google photo booth.
This is me, Andrea, and our friend Mary (also from SI) taking at anti-gravity photo at the Maryland Science center. Priceless....
Baltimore was a lot more fun than I was anticipating. The downtown, with its restaurants and museums offered hours of post-conference entertainment.
Not to mention all the amazing fried-crab-inspired food options.
All in all it was an amazing trip that I will strongly recommend to all the first-years at SI. This conference is about more than just saying that diversity in technology is important .... this conference makes you feel the power of how much women can contribute to STEM fields. It is a shot in the arm to anyone whose felt frustrated or discouraged that they weren't good enough: this experience is about reminding you that you can do anything you set your mind to!
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