Anita's Quilt – Threads of Inspiration

By Yolanda Davis, Senior Software Engineer at AdvancED

The first and last time I cried over a computer was the fall of 1996. It was towards the end of the semester during my junior year at the University of Maryland and I was a recent Computer Science convert, who had dashed away from Mechanical Engineering in search of better fortune. Even though I had a passion for computers, I didn’t even know a whole degree program existed for them. I spent much of my childhood tinkering with computers, attending computer camp, and writing countless infinite loops in BASIC that sprayed “Hi Mom” over the black and white monitor; but I had always believed that programming was simply a tool used by engineers to get their “real work” done. It wasn’t until I found myself complaining to a good friend on how miserable I was as an ME that he suggested that I try his major, Computer Science, since, in his words “You like computers right? Why don’t you try that? Plus it’s way easier than engineering”. Those words were like music to my ears and the next day I found myself apologizing to my engineering advisor and hugging my new CS advisor as I signed up for this new world in computing. My friend’s statement of “easier” was quickly proven very wrong.
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By Caroline Simard, PhD

I never met Anita, but her contagious passion in making a difference for technical women made a lasting impact on me. As a staff member of the Anita Borg Institute from 2006 to 2012, I experienced an incredible journey of growth from research to action. I came to the organization as a social scientist interested in bridging theory and practice to increase gender equality.
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By Joy Buolamwini

Being from Ghana but having lived in the US most of my life and been the beneficiary of the generosity of many organizations, I know that there are others around the globe who are just as capable as I am but have not had the same opportunities.  I’ve had many opportunities to improve my skills and connections to increase my potential impact, and want to pass some of that forward.

I believe the heart of computing is humanity and my life’s mission is to show compassion through computation by encouraging those under represented in technology fields to become full participants in the creation of the future. In the video I share my story and introduce you to the Zamrize project. I founded Zamrize to empower African youth to become creators of technology through exposure, education, and entrepreneurship.
 

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By Karen Tanenbaum

I am a Maker. I’ve been making things all my life, but only started considering myself a “Maker” recently, as part of the burgeoning Make movement. Since I was young, I have been creating costumes, props, and jewelry. I considered this my hobby, a little side project that was vaguely embarassing but that I loved nonetheless. I spent hours..days..weeks…working to recreate costumes from tv, film and comic books in the “real world”, trying to identify all the little details of a look from screenshots and partial views. I played around with technology to create special effects, like electrolumiscent wire and sound activated power supplies.

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By Laurian Vega

Far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing. — Theodore Roosevelt

To feel like I belong – that I am a “real” computer scientist – I have always felt the need to be the best at what I worked on. My programs would run the fastest, my GUIs would be the cleanest, and my effort the hardest. While my work always left me feeling proud, sometimes all that hard work would leave me feeling drained and low.

The time I felt the lowest was after I had my first child while working on my PhD.
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By Lukas Blakk

I’m a late-arrival to the booming tech scene in the Bay Area. Due to many reasons including being raised by a working-poor single mother, leaving home early, finishing high school while collecting welfare, and then having no knowledge of Canada’s student loan program culminated in not following a direct route to higher education.

I was always interested in computers and jumped on them whenever there was a chance. In grade 6 we would be bussed once a week to a nearby high school that had a computer lab with Icon computers and I have journal entires from that time – written to my teacher – where I beg her to let me switch lab partners because “Roxanne and I fight over the mouse, we’re both too good with the computer”. I find it hilarious that my proposed solution was to get partnered with someone who was less skilled so I could grab more time on the controls. This is very much the opposite of what I try to do now.
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by Malavika Lakireddy

It seems like a lifetime ago when I, as a teenager, was deciding what major to take in my undergrad. Torn between my love for physics and my interest in computers, I chose Electronics thinking that I would build the next super computer. While I haven’t quite built a super computer, my journey nevertheless has been very interesting – I have worn many hats -as a programmer, project manager, marketer, product manager, business manager in Fortune 500 companies with hundreds of thousands of employees to startups with 10s of employees. My journey is far from complete – yet, when I look back over the last 12 years, l have lived and experienced beyond the wildest dreams of that teenager deciding what major to take. I’d like to share a couple of experiences that were really important to moving me along in my path wherein I learnt some techniques which I continue to use.
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by Sarah J Bell

This is not a story about inspiring young women to enter computer science. This is not advice for how to advance your career. This is not even a story about how I built a really cool piece of technology. This is simply the story of the most learning-intensive year of my adult life.

I left Silicon Valley two years ago. For anyone seeking to build the best technology that affects the greatest number of people, this is a bad idea. Silicon Valley is for tech what Florence was for the Renaissance. You want to write the world’s best code? Surround yourself with the world’s best engineers, live where they live, eat what they eat, play what they play.
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