I’m excited to have spoken earlier last year at the Grace Hopper Conference as a computer science student! My talk was focused on empowering individuals to build a campus community. I shared my experience starting Western University’s Women in Computer Science Committee (UWO WICS) and how I leverage the resources from partner organizations, clubs, and my school to create compelling, engaging, and valuable events for the student population. I also went through how I marketed the events and got hundreds of students to attend these events this year and join the community.
The Journey to Speaking at GHC 🌟
My path to becoming a GHC speaker began with winning the 2022 AnitaB Pass It On Award, which provided me with a grant to implement initiatives for women in computer science at my university. This recognition opened the door to sharing my experiences on an even larger stage at GHC 2023.
I had just finished my sophomore year of CS and realized there was no significant in-person presence on my campus. By “on campus”, I mean, when you walk up to the doors of the computer science building, there is a rush of people immediately, but there is no common place that you can call “community.”
There was a new room where people could study in groups, but it holds probably 20 people max and is usually filled with students on a time crunch. Students in the study room would come and go doing group projects and the room would remain empty throughout the day.
Some clubs would hold virtual events, but there wasn’t a computer science community specifically, there was no common community.
Noticing that there were many Women in CS clubs on campuses across Canada, such as Waterloo and UBC, I wanted to bring this energy to my university. Emphasizing collaboration with the school faculty for increased sponsorship, I applied for the AnitaB Pass It On Grant.
In my pursuit to create equitable opportunities for cs representation on campus, I became the Western University Google Developer Student Club (GDSC) lead. This strong partnership between these committees enabled us to deliver even more impact— that year, we organized numerous workshops with corporate partners like Salesforce and Google on technical and behavioural interviews, and gave students a community to learn from each other.
In March, we organized workshops at an International Women’s Day event in partnership with WICS, Google Women Techmakers, Ivey Business School and Ivey Hacks. Through these events, we supported students in navigating the new normal as emerging technologies continue to evolve. Students learned from Ada, a TPM at Google in machine learning, and other developers from the Google Developer Community. From there, we facilitated workshops on Flutter, a cross-platform mobile application development SDK which enabled students to develop their skills during the challenge.
I was also the campus lead for the Percentage Project, a data-driven campaign to research the student experience. We conducted a survey of over 100 STEM students from diverse backgrounds and our findings revealed that many didn’t feel they were meeting their full potential.
I had multiple discussions with the Departmental Chairs of Computer Science and Science, where we discussed how we could partner to improve the STEM student experience. As a result of these discussions, we secured consistent funding for initiatives, including for women in CS to attend conferences like the Canadian Celebration of Women in Computing (CANCWIC).
This is among the many events we had during the school year with GDSC, and I’m proud of our progress as the membership grew from 100 to over 550+ members.
The Application Process 📝
The opportunity to speak at GHC came as a natural extension of my work with the AnitaB organization. As a Pass It On Award (PIO) winner, I was invited to share my insights on community building, particularly focusing on how to create and nurture spaces for women in technology.
My Talk: Building Campus Communities 🏛️
My presentation focused on empowering individuals to build thriving campus communities, drawing from my experience in:
- Establishing the Women in Computer Science Committee
- Growing our Developer Student Club from 100 to over 450 members
- Creating partnerships with faculty and corporate sponsors
- Organizing high-impact events and workshops
Key Topics Covered
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Resource Leveraging
- Partnering with organizations
- Utilizing school resources
- Building corporate relationships
-
Event Planning & Marketing
- Attracting hundreds of student attendees
- Creating engaging content
- Building sustainable engagement
-
Partnership Development
- Collaborating with faculty chairs
- Working with corporate partners like Salesforce
- Creating cross-disciplinary connections
Impact and Initiatives 💫
Successful Programs
- Technical and behavioral interview workshops with Salesforce
- International Women’s Day event with Ivey Business School
- Flutter development workshops with Google Developer Community
- Data-driven campaigns with the Percentage Project
Institutional Changes
- Regular discussions with department chairs about marginalized students' experiences
- Creation of dedicated community spaces
- Enhanced support systems for computer science students
The GHC Experience 🎤
Speaking at GHC was incredibly inspiring. The conference provided a platform to:
- Connect with passionate women in technology
- Share successful community-building strategies
- Learn from other leaders in the field
- Build lasting professional relationships
Challenges Addressed 🌉
Initial Campus Situation
- Lack of in-person community presence
- Limited study spaces
- Disconnected student population
- Minimal cross-program collaboration
Solutions Implemented
- Created dedicated community spaces
- Established regular in-person events
- Built partnerships across departments
- Developed mentorship programs
Key Takeaways for Community Builders 📚
-
Start Small, Think Big
- Begin with clear, achievable goals
- Plan for scalable growth
- Build sustainable structures
-
Leverage Partnerships
- Engage with faculty
- Connect with corporate sponsors
- Collaborate with other student organizations
-
Focus on Engagement
- Create valuable, relevant content
- Build inclusive spaces
- Maintain consistent communication
Looking Forward 🚀
The experience of speaking at GHC has reinforced my commitment to:
- Continuing to build inclusive tech communities
- Mentoring future leaders
- Expanding successful initiatives
- Creating more opportunities for women in tech
Advice for Future Speakers 💭
For those aspiring to speak at GHC:
- Get involved with organizations like AnitaB
- Document your community-building journey
- Focus on measurable impact
- Share authentic experiences
- Build a strong support network
The journey from winning the AnitaB Pass It On Award to speaking at GHC has been incredibly rewarding. It’s shown me the power of community building and the impact we can have when we work together to create inclusive spaces in technology.