Life changing. Eye opening. Mind blowing.
These are just a few of the words computer science students used to describe their experience at the 2014 Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing, billed as the world鈥檚 largest gathering of female technologists.
Eight women from CU Engineering were able to attend the conference thanks to scholarships from Boulder-based Zayo Group. Upon returning, they invited their fellow students to a panel discussion to share their takeaways and testimonials.
For most, simply being surrounded by women鈥攖he conference attracted nearly 7,500 attendees 鈥攚as a new experience.
鈥淚t was great to be in a place where people鈥檚 first reaction was not, 鈥極h, you鈥檙e a woman in computer science!鈥欌�� says sophomore Paige Johnson.
The students also shared how the event allowed them to make meaningful connections.
鈥淚 probably spent an average of 15 minutes with every company I talked to at the career fair,鈥� says junior Jessica Lynch. 鈥淚t was really great to hear everyone鈥檚 stories and hear that companies are more welcoming than I expected.鈥�
Sophomore Camilla Lombrocco, who is majoring in computer science and physics, said that before Grace Hopper, she thought her path lay in academia. But after being exposed to the wide variety of opportunities for computer scientists and spending time with a representative from Intel, she鈥檚 changed her mind.
鈥淭he most amazing thing was that they wanted to capture us,鈥� she says. 鈥淭hey wanted to show us how beautiful their company was. When I got back, I switched from doing a PhD in physics to applying for the BS/MS program in computer science. The conference literally changed my future.鈥�
This year鈥檚 鈥淶ayo Scholars鈥� also included Heather Dykstra, Natalia Rodriguez, Lisa Hobbs, Dilara Madinger and Sloane O'Neill.