A cohort of 50 promising young KFSCIS women joined more than 30,000 attendees at this year’s Grace Hopper Celebration in Orlando. This year’s theme, The Way Forward, provided a rallying cry for the tech industry to come together and create a more inclusive and equitable future. Each day began with an impactful keynote speech by technology experts and enthusiasts in computer science.
Highlighted were women supporting women, featuring influential speakers such as Aisha Bowe, Tunde Oyeneyin, Tiffany Yu, and Sage Ke’alohilani Quiamno, who each encouraged women to ignite their brilliance, view women as the solution, and use technology to improve the human condition. These captivating speakers who shared stories of triumph and overcoming adversity prompted attendees to accelerate their careers and achieve their own, unique successes.
Immersing themselves in diverse sessions covering cutting-edge tech topics, the KFSCIS attendees made the most of the opportunity to engage with industry recruiters during the Career Fair. This engagement resulted in numerous interviews and at least two internship offers, setting the stage for promising future careers. The conference left an enduring impact, bolstering the attendees’ confidence and inspiring them to envision their present and future roles as leaders in the tech world.
Our students’ engagement was made possible by KFSCIS support and Grace Hopper Celebration organizers, who together provided forty of the KFSCIS attendees with scholarships covering the entrance fees. Additionally, ten remarkable ladies from the Women in Computer Science (WiCS) student organization at KFSCIS were awarded full scholarships, covering housing, entrance fees, and other expenses.
The Grace Hopper Celebration (GHC), Sponsored by the Anita B Organization, pays tribute to the legacy of Navy Rear Admiral Grace Murray Hopper, Ph.D., an American computer scientist and mathematician, and a pioneer in computer programming. Dr. Hopper was one of the first three computer programmers during World War II, working at Harvard University on the special Bureau of Ships Computation Project. While there, she worked on top-secret calculations essential to the war effort, including calculations used by John von Neumann in developing the plutonium bomb. After the war, Grace Murray Hopper invented the first computer language, “compiler,” to translate mathematical code into machine-readable binary code. She also developed the first programmable language to use English-like commands instead of mathematical symbols.
“Grace Hopper’s legacy is a phenomenal story,” said Evelyn Cao, a two-time attendee to the Celebration as she reflected on her experience. “Admiral Hopper, along with other women in technology, have demonstrated that you can do anything you put your mind to. After attending this year’s Celebration, I’m even more excited about my future in tech.”