New programs, new places, new faces: the latest from NCWIT AiC
New places, new programs, new faces. It was a big year for NCWIT Aspirations in Computing (AiC). We added new Affiliate Award programs serving Southwest Florida, New Jersey, St. Louis & Southern Illinois, Connecticut, Southern Utah, and San Antonio. Congratulations and thanks to all of the volunteers that stepped up to bring the program to even more young women. We also introduced NCWIT AspireIT — and innovative program in which Aspirations in Computing recipients work with NCWIT Alliance members to introduce computing to middle school girls. To accommodate the growth of Aspirations in Computing, we welcomed Ammi and Jennifer to the AiC Team. Read on to learn about many of the ways that Aspirations in Computing is increasing young women's participation in computing.
young women from 2007 to 2014 have been recognized for their aspirations and achievements in computing and technology.
11,000
young women self-identified as interested in computing and technology.
>1,600
volunteers from academia, non-profit organizations, and corporations have participated.
>50%
of applicants in 2014 were from underrepresented racial/ethnic minority groups.
50
states, Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands participate with Aspirations in Computing.
41
scholarship opportunities were offered to Award for Aspirations in Computing recipients in 2013.
71%
of participants now in college report a major or minor in traditionally male-dominated STEM fields.
684
middle school girls received 64,000 hours of computing education from near-peer leaders through NCWIT AspireIT in the 2013-2014 pilot round.
>160
educators have been awarded with a professional development stipend as recognition for their active encouragement of women in computing. The 2014 Educator Award winners also received a laptop, provided by AT&T and Dell.
NCWIT Award for Aspirations in Computing alumnae continue to shine and advocate for girls in technology, long after they receive their awards. Cassidy Williams presented a TEDxDesMoines talk titled, “Growing Up in STEM as a Girl.” Kylie Moden was featured on KAAB Fox San Antonio for her NCWIT AspireIT TECH Camp for middle school girls. Naomi Shah discusses her clean air research and her experiences at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair and Intel Science Talent Search in this video.
Want to know what other AiC Alumnae have been doing lately? Check out our blogs at www.aspirations.org/blog.
In partnership with Bank of America, we recognized 35 national winners of the 2014 NCWIT Award for Aspirations in Computing at the Bank of America Technology Stars of the Future Showcase & Awards Ceremony this past March in Charlotte, North Carolina. As part of the festivities, awardees went on a walking tour of Charlotte — hosted by AiC alumnae, mingled at a meet and greet pool party, and accepted an invitation to a lunch at the exclusive Bank of America Executive Dining Room. Bank of America's Global Wholesale Bank Operations Executive and NCWIT Board Member Denise Menelly made this event possible. NCWIT Board Member Tami Mallett of Hewlett-Packard awarded each young woman a portable printer in addition to the other prizes each received. Additionally, Brad Feld, Chair of the NCWIT BOD, and his wife Amy Batchelor gave each awardee $1,000 in scholarships.
In addition to the 35 national winners, NCWIT recognized 351 young women as National Runners-up and will recognize 1,346 recipients as Affiliate Award Winners and Runners-up at 58 Affiliate Award celebrations in 2014. NCWIT received over 2,300 applications — 400 more than the applications received in 2013.
"I felt that the ceremony was particularly meaningful to me. It was encouraging to be reminded that I am a part of something greater. I do not have many female role models to look up to when it comes to technology, so it was inspiring to see so many others who truly love what they do." ~ 2014 NCWIT Affiliate Award Winner
In 2014, NCWIT AspireIT will serve more than 1,300 middle school girls with over 50,000 instruction hours in computing and technology during workshops, after-school programs, and summer camps. NCWIT AspireIT capitalizes on a "near-peer," hands-on approach. Middle school girls learn programming, game design, robotics, e-textiles, and more through programs created and led by young women in high school and college. NCWIT awarded $123,500 to 46 local programs across 19 states focused on inspiring middle school girls to consider careers in technology.
“It made me feel confident in my abilities and empowered that I could pass on my passions to other girls.” ~NCWIT AspireIT Program Leader
Learn more about NCWIT AspireIT and view the latest programs at www.ncwit.org/aspireit. NCWIT AspireIT is made possible through generous support from Intel, Google, and Northrop Grumman.
NYC FIRST Robotics & Bloomberg Social In early April, NCWIT partnered with Bloomberg and FIRST Robotics to host a Young Women in Technology Social at the regional NYC FIRST Robotics competition. The young ladies took a much needed break from the competition, networked, snacked, won prizes at the event, and listened to Becky Plummer from Bloomberg who spoke about the many technical career opportunities available. After the Social, a smaller group of AiC Alumnae headed over to the Bloomberg headquarters for a VIP tour and a very nice dinner, and had the opportunity to network with Bloomberg developers and snap some photos.
International Women’s Hackathon 2014 On April 25-27, 2014, NCWIT joined Microsoft at the USA Science & Engineering Festival in Washington, D.C. to participate in the International Women’s Hackathon 2014. Several alumnae of the NCWIT Award for Aspirations in Computing were enlisted to help Microsoft organize the challenges and examine the rules and regulations. Congresswoman Susan Brooks, FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, NCWIT CEO and Co-founder Lucy Sanders, and Bonnie Ross, the GM of everything Halo at 343 Industries at Microsoft, were among the notable speakers who talked with hackathon participants about the importance of women’s participation in computing.
Girls in ICT Day Tweet-a-thon On April 24, 2014, NCWIT proudly partnered with Intel to host a tweet-a-thon in honor of Girls in ICT Day. This initiative of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is a global effort to raise awareness on empowering and encouraging young women to consider studies and careers in information and communications technology.
Participants in the tweet-a-thon had the opportunity to ask questions to several representatives connected to NCWIT’s community including:
We welcome Ammi Ludwick, Aspirations in Computing Program Director, and Jennifer Manning, NCWIT AspireIT Program Manager, to our NCWIT AiC Team!
Ammi joined NCWIT in February 2014 and is responsible for program implementation and expansion. She works closely with the managers of the NCWIT AiC community, high school, and NCWIT AspireIT middle school outreach program. Ammi’s background is in education, volunteer management, program development, and event planning. She received her bachelor’s degree from St. Mary’s College of California and her master’s degree from Loyola University Chicago.
Jennifer first joined NCWIT as a consultant in February 2013 and is now responsible for building and managing the NCWIT AspireIT middle school outreach program. She is a graduate of Michigan State University with a degree in Family Community Services and lives currently in Portland, Oregon. She has been working with non-profits for over 14 years including the Portland Volunteer Center as Assistant Director, the Girl Scouts as Program Manager, and the American Cancer Society as Executive Director. Her areas of expertise include building successful programs (capacity building, strategy and infrastructure for sustainability), developing collaborations/partnerships, volunteer management, fundraising, and event planning.
AiC participants are often offered potential scholarships, internships, and job positions, as well as opportunities to participate in tech-related camps, workshops, competitions, classes and more.
Did you know that you can submit* opportunities to the NCWIT AiC website for Award recipients, educators, parents, and other AiC participants to view? Technology-related opportunities at the local, regional, or national level are all applicable submissions. View a list of current opportunities at www.aspirations.org/opportunities.
* Please note that all opportunities must be approved by NCWIT AiC Staff before they are publicly listed at the website. Email any questions or concerns to [email protected].
