Warm and Glowing Sun of Southern California
Located under the warm and glowing sun of Southern California is University of California, Irvine, the venue for the 2013 Southern California NCWIT Aspirations award ceremony. Congratulating a bright group of amazing females on their technical expertise and technological success, the ceremony definitely brought upon a new spotlight in my life that gave me the motivation and inspiration to aspire further. I was absolutely stunned at the arrangement of this event and the phenomenal speakers that shared their experiences and insight with us.
The wonderful ladies with whom I had the chance to meet were so lovely and social. From our conversations about our common interests of fictional characters to favorite computer language, we bonded very well and developed a greater appreciation for one another. With such a diverse group of students, I loved interacting with each and every one of them, and was awe-struck by some of the phenomenal achievements of these ladies.
The speakers we had from Microsoft and the UC Irvine CS department staff were so incredibly inspiring. They spoke with one purpose in mind of encouraging females to pursue their dreams and never giving into the stereotypical notions held by the society. These speeches, aside from being very informative and helpful, marked my source of inspiration and really made me realize how big of an impact I can really have on the field. And at the culmination of the speeches, we received the beautifully designed award and the “swag bag” containing several goodies from companies like Facebook, Blizzard and Google. We also received wonderful connections and networking opportunities with people from Microsoft, who were the primary speakers at the ceremony. It was simply a fantastic and exhilarating experience. The perfect combination of ambiance, ladies, speakers, food, and gifts made this day unforgettable. I am still so moved from the award ceremony that I have captured this day in my memory, and made it an essay for my personal statement for an application.
Truly, the ceremony was a huge blast that I will always remember. It made a lasting impression on me and really compelled me to get involved in the IT industry. I am so thankful for this recognition, and especially thankful to NCWIT that arranged this ceremony and provided us a magnificent experience.
