The Nexus of Technology & Talent: Khalia Braswell

Khalia’s interest in technology was piqued in the fourth grade when her mother purchased their first home computer. She learned everything she could using that machine, and according to Khalia, “It went from [my mom] monitoring what I was doing on the computer to me to showing her all that she could do with the computer.”

Later in middle school, Khalia decided to take courses on keyboarding and PowerPoint. She soon came to find that she had already taught herself so much more than she was learning in class. Luckily, she heard rumors of a new school being built and once she found out it was a tech school, it was game on! Khalia enrolled in Phillip O. Berry Academy of Technology in Charlotte, North Carolina. It was there that the world of technology and computer-related studies opened up to her. In 2008, she won the NCWIT Award for Aspirations in Computing.

“I never thought about this before, and then it hit me... most of my teachers in high school were women! I KNOW that played a part in me choosing the field without hesitation and rarely thinking 'this is not for me.' My AP Computer Science teacher was female, my first programming class was taught by a woman and that’s probably the class that piqued my interest the most because I could actually see what I was doing through the code I had written, and that was magical,” recalled Khalia.

She took to programming like a fish to water and was encouraged by her teachers to take as many programming classes as she could. “I knew how to program, and I figured I could teach myself how to program even better, since I knew the language and so when I first went to college I started out on the Computer Engineering track,” said Khalia. She attended North Carolina State University after high school, the top engineering school in North Carolina.

Studying at North Carolina State University

But after her first year, Khalia took a detour and changed to a Computer Science track and never looked back. She received her undergraduate degree in computer science last May.

Now, Khalia is pursuing a two-year Masters of Information Technology program with a concentration in Human Computer Interaction (HCI) at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte. Khalia explained her concentration as the nexus between social and behavioral sciences and information technology where social theory is applied and developed to create and evaluate new information systems.

“I really like how interdisciplinary [HCI] is. We incorporate a great deal of sociology as well as psychology and even look at how things are built, and whether they are intuitive and contribute positively to the user experience,” Khalia said.

Besides working on her masters, Khalia is also the public relations chairperson of the National Society of Black Engineers, serving as the driving force behind the society’s social media presence, making sure there is a level of consistency in the social media space and providing information about NSBE programs to media outlets.

DJ CEO

Yet with all that going on, Khalia manages to make waves in another industry that tends to be saturated by males as a DJ. Khalia fueled a keen interest in music for many years, eventually serving as a radio DJ at NCSU. “I figured out how to incorporate technology into my musical interests and parlayed that into a weekly radio show and soon after, a lucrative little DJing gig,” said Khalia.

“I’ve always thought that technology is ubiquitous and I would recommend girls use that fact and combine technology with whatever else they’re passionate about. For me that was music,” said Khalia.

Khalia goes by “DJ CEO” which stands for “Creatively Entertaining Others.” She maintained her weekly radio show for three years while completing her undergraduate studies. “The most important lesson I learned while DJing and doing gigs on campus for different groups is that sometimes technology fails you, and it’s important to be ready for that and prepare by having a backup plan, it’s always what you do to make the show go on, the way you problem solve.”

But even those kinks in the road inspired Khalia. She is now working on how she can use her knowledge of basic application design to create a solution to do away with all the wires and cords coming out of the various components DJ’s and musicians use.

“There’s got to be a better way. There’s so many different wireless technologies out there now, I’m vexed by why even now I see DJs with a dozen cords coming out of their mixers and components all intertwined between their CD and Ipod players, scratch turntables and whatever else they use to create their mixes,” said Khalia.

“The challenges that come up are the ones that are actually going to shape us. At the end of the day, it’s about skill, whether in the musical field or technical field, talent will always rule the day.”