Pass-It-On Awards Program: Spring 2012 Systers Pass-It-On Award Winners
Gabriella L.
Project Title: Be the first woman in the whole family to graduate in Computer Science and to work in technology
Project Description: Gabriella is seeking partial funding to support the final year in a Computer Science degree. She will be the first woman in the family to graduate in a STEM subject; this would set an example to other women in the family and she would be an ambassador among the people in her network of what women can do working in technology.
In order to be able to focus on her studies in her final year, she needs financial means to support herself during that time in substitution of part-time work. For this reason, the PIO Award would be a partial contribution to the funding needed to be able to fully dedicate her final year to her Computer Science studies. Concentrating on her studies will help her to achieve a high class Honours degree that will put her in an ideal position career-wise and to continue her studies – either in a Masters in HPC (High Performance Computing) or a PhD.
Finally, she wants to be the role model for other young women in her family and network – show that it’s possible and desirable for someone coming from a non-technical background to study and work in a technical field, and that there are opportunities and exciting things to be achieved.
Jessica M.
Project Title: Bringing the Boston Python Workshops for women to 2 new cities in the US
Project Description: The Boston Python Workshop is a wildly successful programming outreach pipeline for women that has brought over 300 women into the local programming community and boosted representation by women at local Python user group events from 2% to 15% in the last 18 months. The Workshop is also a platform for dozens of women programmers to take leadership and teaching roles in the Python community, and to inspire other programming user groups to run diversity outreach events.
Through a grant from the Python Software Foundation, the Workshop has hit the road to help Python user groups bootstrap introductory programming events for women in Philadelphia, Indianapolis, and Washington D.C. This Systers Pass-It-On grant will send experienced Boston Python Workshop mentors to help kickstart workshops in 2 new cities in the United States.
Lydiah O.
Project Title: Computer for Graduate Computer Systems Studies
Project Description: Lydiah is from Kenya and undertaking Master of Science in Computer Systems at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and technology (JKUAT) in Kenya. She is the only graduate from a family of eleven children and the only graduate in Computer field from her community.
She will use the award to purchase a computer and printer for her masters in computer systems studies. Without a computer she was not sure of whether she would effectively go through the masters program and undertake research.
She is planning to utilize the gained skills in empowering other women to embrace technology. Lydiah will start Saturday classes for three hours for a few women in her community and will use the computer to teach them computer skills and application software. In future, she plans to start computer classes for young girls aged 12 to 18 years in her local church.
After completing graduate studies, she plans to solicit for more funds and start a digital village in her community and encourage all women and girls to embrace technology.
Thogori K.
Project Title: Books and supplies towards Master of Information Systems Management at Carnegie Mellon University
Project Description: Thogori from Nairobi, Kenya is an international student enrolled in a Master of Information Systems Management at Carnegie Mellon University. The degree she is undertaking prepares the next generation of technology leaders to solve problems in innovative ways that break traditional boundaries. She intends to use the funding to purchase books and supplies in her first semester at CMU. She intends to continue advancing her abilities
in order to be in a capacity to drive transformational change.
She wants to return to Kenya after her studies and establish or work with an organization that conceptualizes and implements innovative information technology solutions that help transform the quality of people’s lives. Thogori is also passionate about mentoring girls to excel, and will pass it on by working with 2 foundations to teach and mentor girls and young women in information technology.