{"id":13737,"date":"2019-11-12T14:59:47","date_gmt":"2019-11-12T19:59:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cs\/?p=13737"},"modified":"2020-03-18T14:01:48","modified_gmt":"2020-03-18T18:01:48","slug":"ghc-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cs\/2019\/11\/12\/ghc-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"GHC 2019 Empowers BU CS Students"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Kayla Chapman<\/em><\/p>\n

14 Boston University Computer Science (CS) students and three CS staff members landed in Orlando, Florida on October 1, 2019, for a week-long celebration of women in computing at the 2019 Grace Hopper Celebration (GHC). The annual convention serves as a gathering point for the bright female minds in technology.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As the largest conference for women and female-identifying people in technology, GHC bursts with an incredible variety of networking and employment opportunities, inspiring speakers, and meaningful peer connections. The event offers attendees access to a career fair, mentorship sessions, presentations from industry professionals and more. This year\u2019s conference, according to participants, exceeded all expectations.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe word that comes to mind when thinking about my Grace Hopper experience is overwhelming in the absolute best way possible,\u201d said senior Sumara Ali (CAS\u201820).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Every year CS students at BU submit comprehensive applications in hopes of being sponsored by the Department of Computer Science to attend GHC. Nearly 50% of applicants were awarded sponsorship this year.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I received the email saying I was awarded the BU GHC Scholarship, I was over the moon,\u201d said Sarah Greisdorf (CAS\u201820). \u201cThe months leading up to the event were filled with anticipation and eagerness as I didn\u2019t know what to expect but couldn\u2019t wait to arrive.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Between busy hallways and filled seats, students initially found the number of participants at GHC intimidating. However, attendees quickly felt the power of female camaraderie and support in a male-dominated industry. For Megan Fantes (GRS\u201820), attending such a large event evoked both shock and intrigue.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe number of people at Grace Hopper is unimaginable. 25,000 people is a hard number to wrap your head around in general but it was confusing to me that there were 25,000 women in computer science in the United States,\u201d said the Master\u2019s student. \u201cIt made me wonder why we all feel so alone as women in computer science when there are actually so many of us.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Attendees
Andrea Burns (GRS’23), Katherine Missimer (GRS’20), Megan Fantes (GRS’20), and Sara Kim (CAS’20) pose outside of the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, FL.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

While there is no shortage of reasons to attend GHC, the career fair is a notable highlight. Attendees are given primary access to discuss professional opportunities with highly sought-after employers. Some participants even receive the opportunity to take these conversations a step further and participate in interviews at the conference.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was so refreshing to see so many companies, big and small, advocating for an increase in women and diverse candidates,\u201d said Taylor Rabbitt (CAS\u201820).\u00a0 \u201cWhile I was at the conference, I had the opportunity to meet two VPs at American Express and was even able to land a job offer for a full-time position.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While students like Rabbitt sought out post-graduate opportunities, younger participants found value in practicing how to engage with potential employers.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI went into [the career fair] with only a vague idea of how to pitch myself,\u201d said Shanshan Cao (CAS\u201822). \u201cI came out of it with a solid idea of where I stand as a tech person and feeling confident and comfortable in a career fair environment.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Beyond the career fair, the conference served as a chance for women around the world to celebrate their unique position in the technology industry.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAs a woman of color, I have not been given many opportunities to get into tech and coding,\u201d said senior Hannah Batio (CAS\u201820). \u201cI think it is amazing that GHC is reaching out to young people and industry people alike to get them excited about women in tech.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Shanshan
Shanshan Cao (CAS’21) tests a VR experience.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

GHC 2019 marked the fourth year the Department of Computer Science has sponsored the event and sent a large group of students. For the staff members who represented the department, the impact was inspiring to see.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAll students receive a lot of value even if it\u2019s not a job offer,\u201d said Senior Program Administrator Christian Cole (CAS\u201811). \u201cIt\u2019s really powerful for them to see just how many women there actually are in computing. Even though the percentage is much lower than it should be, the sheer number of people is high enough that there can be a really strong community.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Along with Cole, Undergraduate Program Director Jacob Harrington (CAS\/GRS\u201816) and Ph.D. Program Director Kori MacDonald managed a booth during the career expo to promote BU\u2019s graduate student programs, faculty hiring, and world-class research. All three applauded the students\u2019 involvement and eagerness throughout the event.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c[The students] always seemed really busy and on the go, and I think that shows a lot of ambition. They really took every opportunity to make it the best,\u201d said MacDonald.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The staff also noted the high number of alumni who stopped by to say hello. \u201cOne of our alumni who was representing her company at GHC visited the booth,\u201d said Harrington. \u201cWe sent her to [the conference] last year and she told us how much of a difference GHC made for her.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"BUCS
BUCS students and staff members pose at the BU booth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

The confidence boost provided by the celebration was felt by many of the attendees.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the greatest takeaways from GHC was the importance of owning your accomplishments,\u201d said Ph.D. student Andrea Burns (GRS\u201923). \u201cIt is often too easy to undermine your success, especially as a woman, but I found it was necessary to communicate my strengths and achievements and ultimately that was what landed me my interviews.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In the end, GHC 2019 left many of the students inspired and thankful for the opportunity.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was so amazing to see so many women gathered together united by our love of technology,\u201d said Rachel Peng (CAS \u201821). “I am so grateful to have been selected by the program to attend!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Kayla Chapman 14 Boston University Computer Science (CS) students and three CS staff members landed in Orlando, Florida on October 1, 2019, for a week-long celebration of women in computing at the 2019 Grace Hopper Celebration (GHC). The annual convention serves as a gathering point for the bright female minds in technology.\u00a0\u00a0 As the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16745,"featured_media":13759,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13737"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16745"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13737"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13737\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13887,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13737\/revisions\/13887"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13759"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13737"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13737"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13737"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}