South Students Celebrate Women in C.S.
Women are becoming an integral part of the tech industry of today, and South Seattle College is helping the next generation prepare to join their ranks, well-prepared and ready to make a difference.
Recently, four of South's Computer Science students attended the "Grace Hopper Conference" in Phoenix, AZ which celebrates women in the industry and covers current issues in the field. The students who attended the conference included: Audrey Ackman, Rachel Brown, Tori Overman and Molly Watson. Each of these students received a scholarship from South that covered the costs of attending the conference.
"Women are not only present in tech, they are a driving force for change in the industry," Watson explained.
With future colleagues and industry all-stars in attendance, South's students were presented with unlimited networking opportunities.
"All of the women at GHC were passionate not only about learning more from different tech disciplines, but also to connect with each other and help strengthen each other through networking and community-building," Watson continued. "It was positive atmosphere like none other!"
In addition to attending keynote addresses, attendees split-up into teams to attend interesting presentations and workshops, in numerous mentoring and technical tracks.
The students who attended the conference were accompanied by instructor Ravi Gandham. As Gandham explained, it was well worth the trip.
"All in all, it was a successful trip," he said. "We were able to learn a lot and had a great experience."
For student Overman, this conference was an "eye-opening" look at her future profession.
"I pride myself on looking into all my options, and educating myself to what I can do in the future," Overman explained. "Seeing what these women did in their day to day lives with their degrees, and how vastly different it all could be was new. It made me consider my future in many different lights I had not looked at before."