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Yearly newsletter for the Women in Computing program at the Rochester Instute of Technology
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For more information on these pro-
grams, contact Women in Comput-
ing Program Coordinator, Sandra
Murphy ([email protected]) or Women
in Computing Executive Director,
Sharon Mason ([email protected]).
Women in Computing has contin-
ued its tradition of providing ca-
reer advancement, social, net-
working and outreach opportuni-
ties to GCCIS students this year,
and has recently expanded its
programs into four different ar-
eas.
PROPEL-The PROPEL
(Professional Development,
Preparation, Education, and Lead-
ership) program offers a series of
events to promote the profes-
sional preparation of students
before they enter the workforce.
Events include a resume writing
seminar, business etiquette
lunch, and professional network-
ing sessions.
SOAR—The SOAR (Student Oppor-
tunities and Activities in Re-
search) program offers students
opportunities to learn about how
to engage in research.
INSPIRE—The INSPIRE program
involves GCCIS women in com-
puting sharing their experi-
ences with school age girls to
provide inspiration and insights
as to what is involved in a com-
puting career. This program
includes a WIC Roadshow and a
series of events where Girl
Scouts and younger students
are invited to the RIT campus to
be inspired by computing.
BALANCE—The BALANCE pro-
gram is a series for women
(faculty, staff, and students) to
learn about balance in their
lives. Events include a panel
discussion of family and work
balance, a day to learn tech-
niques for stress reduction and
noon-time yoga.
W O M E N I N C O M P U T I N G A T R I T P R O G R A M E X P A N S I O N
I N T E R V I E W P A N E L D I S C U S S I O N
Four corporate women from local
businesses joined WIC for a panel
discussion focusing on interview-
ing skills. Attending were: Rita
Tomlinson, Sr. Manager of Corpo-
rate Recruiting from Global Cross-
ing; Tanya Gmitter, Corporate
Recruiter from One Communica-
tions, Trisha Buscemi, Corporate
Recruiter, Human Resources from
Wegman’s Food Markets; and
Mary Pat Cottengim, R&D Systems
Engineer from Ortho Clinical Diag-
nostics. The group answered
questions ranging from what to say
at the interview to how to handle
difficult situations. Many thanks to
the GCCIS advisors in the co-op
and career services office for help-
ing coordinate this event!
WO
ME
N I
N C
OM
PU
TI
NG
A
T R
IT
N E W S L E T T E R D A T E
S U M M E R 2 0 1 1
W O M E N I N C O M P U T I N G A T R I T
I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E :
T E C H I E T R E E 2
P R O J E C T I N G
C O N F I D E N C E 3
N Y C W I C
R E G I O N A L
G R A C E H O P P E R
C O N F E R E N C E
4
D R . J E A N E T T E
W I N G — D E A N ’ S
L E C T U R E
S E R I E S
4
W O M E N I N
C O M P U T I N G
O U T R E A C H
P R O G R A M S
5
W O M E N ’ S
C A R E E R
A C H I E V E M E N T
6
G R A C E H O P P E R
C O N F E R E N C E
2 0 1 0
7
S P E C I A L P O I N T S
O F I N T E R E S T :
Women in Computing
Program Expansion
Grace Hopper
Regional and National
Conferences
Our CS conference
Women in Computing
Outreach Programs
Editor: Sandra Murphy, Women in Computing Program Coordinator. If you have any information you would like to share in future newsletters, please email [email protected].
Summer 2011
A week before the September
job fair, Women in Computing
gathered for a resume writing
workshop. Students learned
what formats to use for their
resumes and how to phrase
and include critical informa-
tion in their resumes. Jill
Jablonski from Career Services
showed examples of technical
resumes, and explained com-
mon errors and how to avoid
them. One should use action
words to explain past projects
and co-op positions to help
make her resume stand out
from others. Students should
always remember to custom-
ize their resumes to the posi-
tion for which they are apply-
ing, and also include
“buzzwords” which some em-
ployers may use to filter out
their resume from another.
ming language, COBOL.
While working at Harvard on
the IBM Mark II, a moth was
found to be stuck in one of
the relays that formed part of
the machine, causing her to
remark that they were
“debugging” the system.
“Amazing” Grace Hopper died
in 1992 at the age of 85.
Almost until the end of her
life, she was active lecturing
and speaking at universities
and computer seminars on
Women in Computing cele-
brated National Computer
Science Week (December 5-
11, 2010) by not only deco-
rating the “Techie Tree,” but
by also celebrating Grace
Hopper’s birthday on Decem-
ber 9. Grace Hopper was one
of the first programmers to
work on the new Harvard IBM
Mark I computer back in
1944. She developed the
first ever compiler, which
later became the program-
the importance of change.
“Our young people are the
future. We must provide for
them. We
must give
them the
positive lead-
ership they
are looking
for...You man-
age things;
you lead peo-
ple.”
R E S U M E W O R K S H O P
G R A C E H O P P E R B I R T H D A Y C E L E B R A T I O N
T E C H I E T R E E D E C O R A T I N G C O N T E S T
As a welcome back to school
at the beginning of winter
quarter, Women in Comput-
ing sponsored its second
annual Techie Tree Party.
Students from GCCIS as well
as other colleges, came for
lunch and then transformed
old computer parts into fun
holiday decorations. Winner
of the most original ornament
this year was Sarah Wagner,
a fourth year IT major, who
transformed a floppy disk
into a penguin decoration.
One student commented on
the event, saying; “This orna-
ment making made my day!”
“The Techie
Tree event is an
opportunity for us to
get together socially
and network in more
of a casual, relaxed
setting. It’s a great
opportunity for
students to connect
with faculty, staff
and each other.”
- Sandra Murphy,
WiC Program
Coordinator
Page 2 W O M E N I N C O M P U T I N G A T R I T
Noel Dasta, 3rd yr medical informatics
The etiquette of how to act
during an interview meal can
be a difficult place for a stu-
dent to navigate. For the
second year, Women in Com-
puting hosted an etiquette
lunch for our students to
learn the etiquette of busi-
ness dining. Women in Tech-
nology and Women In Engi-
neering also attended this
event, the first in a three part
co-operative series of career
focused technical events.
Etiquette is so much more
than which fork to use—
students learned the differ-
ent styles of dining, and how
to proceed at a buffet as well
as a sit down served meal.
Interviewees were told that
they need to give the impres-
sion of being a polished and
knowledgeable professional
so that they can interact with
companies’ customers, cli-
ents, colleagues, and com-
petitors. Students also
learned that during the inter-
view meal their focus should
definitely be on the interview
and not the food!
participated in many exer-
cises, one of which had stu-
dents create their 30 second
elevator speech (a profes-
sional introduction of them-
selves and their goals), then
practice it with their peers,
and finally practice with cur-
rent professionals from
Xerox, Kodak, and RIT. Stu-
dents were also given great
In March, Women in Technol-
ogy completed our co-
operative series with a pres-
entation on Projecting Confi-
dence. The purpose of this
event was to help students
prepare to meet employers
and learn how to “sell” them-
selves. Pamela Spiteri of
Drama Kids International led
the presentation. The group
hints on interviewing includ-
ing asking the question,
“What are the chal-
lenges your company are
going through now?”
Students left this semi-
nar very well prepared
for the job fair, interview-
ing, and meeting profes-
sional contacts in the
workforce.
E T I Q U E T T E L U N C H
P R O J E C T I N G C O N F I D E N C E
D R E S S F O R S U C C E S S / W H A T N O T T O W E A R
Following the January col-
laborative workshop hosted
by Women in Computing, the
Women in Engineering group
hosted a “What Not to Wear”
Event. This event showcased
students from the three
groups modeling professional
clothing from Dress Barn for
different interview situations.
Dress codes for casual work-
places, holiday parties, and
government jobs were ad-
dressed. A Mary Kay
“Confidence
is the
companion
of success“
- Anonymous
Page 3 S U M M E R 2 0 1 1
Katie Grenier (human computer interaction)
Noel Dasta (medical informatics)
Ihudiya Ogburu, 5th year information technology
consultant gave suggestions
on professional makeup and
hair styles. Dress for Success
was hosted just prior to the
career fair, enabling students
to create an appearance to
make a great first impression.
On April 8, 2011, fifteen stu-
dents and faculty headed to
Albany, NY for the first New
York Celebration of Women in
Computing, a regional confer-
ence emulating the national
Grace Hopper Conference.
This conference intended to
promote the academic, social
and professional growth of all
who attended. At the two day
event, students had the op-
portunity to present papers,
posters, and give presenta-
tions and lightning talks on
work and research they have
conducted at RIT or while on
cooperative work assign-
ments. Keynote speaker Dr.
AJ Brush spoke on Everyday
Technology for Families, and
keynote speaker Dr. Julie
Adams spoke on human-
robot interaction. More than
150 students, faculty, and
staff attended the confer-
ence which was organized by
RIT, University of Albany,
Sienna College, and Union
College professors. The next
planned regional conference
will be in 2013.
Angelic Brown, third year New
Media Student, attended the
2011 OurCS Conference.
The conference was a culmi-
nation of industry and educa-
tional professionals, and
distinguished female college
students. The conference
focused mainly on providing
the conference attendees
with useful research experi-
ence to better prepare them
for their future career paths.
The conference featured
many distinguished speakers
including Justine Casell,
Tracy Camp, and Lenore
Blum. Women in Computing
sent Angelic Brown, a third
year new media student to
the conference this year.
Angelic was able to sit and
talk with Professor Alan
Black, a Professor of Lan-
guage Technologies at Carne-
gie Mellon, and hear about
his group’s fascinating re-
search on Mimic, an Auto-
matic System to mimic hu-
man speech. His research
N Y C W I C — R E G I O N A L G R A C E H O P P E R C O N F E R E N C E
O U R C S C O N F E R E N C E
D R . J E A N E T T E W I N G — D E A N ’ S L E C T U R E S E R I E S
with Dr. Wing before her talk.
Dr. Wing spoke on Computa-
tional Thinking. Students
were interested to hear her
thoughts on machine learn-
ing and discovering how it is
revolutionizing so many dif-
ferent fields including statis-
tics and sports nutrition. One
statement that Dr. Wing men-
tioned during her lecture that
stuck with students most was,
"What you can do in software
is only limited by your imagina-
tion. No other engineering can
do that; only Computer Sci-
ence." A student commented
on Dr. Wing’s words, “Those
words have inspired me to
diversify my studies to incorpo-
rate more computer science
material.“
Dr. Jeanette Wing, the Presi-
dent’s Professor of Computer
Science from Carnegie Mel-
lon University, visited RIT as
one of the distinguished
speakers for the GCCIS
Dean’s Lecture Series this
year. Women in Computing
together with the Dean’s
Office hosted a luncheon for
GCCIS students to interact
“To me
programming is
more than an
important
practical art. It
is also a gigantic
undertaking in
the foundations
of knowledge.”
-Grace Hopper
Page 4 W O M E N I N C O M P U T I N G A T R I T
group constructed a system
that synthesized human
speech and performed voice
conversion. Angelic had the
opportunity to work on a re-
search project while at the
conference on Understanding
Facebook Users’ Privacy-
Related Attitudes and Behav-
iors, headed by Professor
Lorrie Cranor. This project
focused on users knowledge
of facebook privacy rules.
Women in Computing has
been very busy with outreach
to local elementary, middle,
and high school girls. During
the 2010-11 school year,
WiC partnered with the Fair-
port school system and
worked with 5th-9th grade
students, showing them the
opportunities which exist to
them in computing.
Golisano College students
have been volunteering their
time to provide PicoCricket
workshops to these students,
as well as girls from other
schools and girl scout troops.
During these workshops,
Women in Computing stu-
dents show a short power-
point presentation explaining
different computing careers.
Most of the time is spent
hands-on working with Pico-
Crickets kits. During this
time, Women in Computing
students work with the girls
building the hardware and
also constructing the pro-
grams for projects such as
light timers, test your re-
flexes, and making music.
The team reached over 150
girls in small group instruc-
tion to nine groups this year
Please contact [email protected] or
(585)475-7155 if you are
interested in learning more
about volunteering for WiC
outreach activities or if you
know of a group which you
think would benefit from the
outreach program.
Women in Computing cele-
brated the end of the aca-
demic year with a Mexican
Fiesta. Students enjoyed a
Mexican buffet lunch to cele-
brate their volunteering for
outreach programs to school
age girls. Women in Comput-
ing said good-bye to GCCIS
senior women with a WIC
slideshow of the year’s many
events. A year of eleven ca-
reer advancement events,
five social/networking
W O M E N I N C O M P U T I N G O U T R E A C H P R O G R A M S
“WiC has helped in getting to know the
other women here and offered a
female perspective on a career in
computing.”
Monica Hirst, 5th year SE student
Page 5 S U M M E R 2 0 1 1
events, as well as nine out-
reach events were celebrated!
Women in Computing at RIT
always welcomes your ideas
and input. Please contact
[email protected] with suggestions
for future programs.
E N D O F Y E A R B A N Q U E T
Yana Malysheva (CS), Sarah Wagner (IT), Rebekah Fenn (CS), Dan-
nea Dixon (SE), Sandra Murphy (WIC prog coord), Rebecca Vessal
(IGM), Noel Dasta (ISF), Katie Grenier (HCI)
Women in Computing again
sponsored women from the
Golisano College of Comput-
ing and Information Sciences
to attend the Women’s Ca-
reer Achievement Dinner on
May 2, 2011. This dinner,
presented by the Center for
Women and Gender, the RIT
Leadership Institute, and the
Office of Alumni Relations,
honored women from RIT as
well as alumni for their contri-
butions to their professions.
Paula Yandow-Reilly, a 2003
graduate, was the GCCIS
honored guest. The dinner
began with a presentation by
the RIT Dance Team, Velocity
at which even Richie, the RIT
tiger participated! After a
welcome and introductions,
Margaret Lowman, Ph.D., and
Director of the Nature Re-
search Center at the North
Carolina Museum of Natural
Sciences, and a professor at
North Carolina University
presented the keynote ad-
dress. Margaret spoke about
being able to balance her
family while advancing her
career. The photos of her
climbing and hovering in the
trees, sometimes with her
small children, showed how
her attitude towards her non-
conventional career helped
her to make it to where she is
today. The evening closed
with awards to our students
who completed the require-
ments for the RIT Women’s
Career Leadership Award. If
you as a student or alumnae
are interested in attending
this dinner next year, please
contact [email protected].
W O M E N ’ S C A R E E R A C H I E V E M E N T D I N N E R
W O M E N I N C O M P U T I N G T H A N K S O U R S P O N S O R S
Page 6 W O M E N I N C O M P U T I N G A T R I T
What if you saw the world from the top
of a 16 story tree?
“It‟s like climbing to outer space. There are millions of
undiscovered creatures in every nook and cranny. Some
are two feet long, some smaller than a raindrop. At 165
feet up, I‟m the first to see rain on the horizon. There are
1,000 shades of green, and I usually can‟t see the forest
floor. Sometimes I stay overnight, and it‟s too much fun
to sleep. The tree‟s strong architecture is very protecting.
The swaying lulls me like I‟m a baby. At night the insects
chew and chirp—it‟s a symphony by Mother Nature, Times
Square in the forest.” — Tropical rainforest canopy biolo-
gist and conservationist Margaret D. Lowman, PhD, who
began taking her two children up with her into the tree-
tops when they were 4 and 6 years old —from “The Oprah
Magazine”, May 11, 2010
Four GCCIS women attended
the national Grace Hopper
Conference in Atlanta, GA
this year. Women in Comput-
ing, with support from the
college departments, was
able to send three students
to this event which is at-
tended by over 2000 people!
Charlene Hannah (IT), Jenna
Dulak (NSSA), and Dorrene
Brown (SE) attended the con-
ference this year. Women in
Computing is also very proud
to announce that Dannea
Dixon (IT) won a scholarship
from the conference commit-
tee to attend. These four
women participated in semi-
nars, talks, social events, and
a career fair with corporate
sponsors. Many had opportu-
nities to interview for co-op
and full time work positions!
Students are able to network
and make contacts with in-
dustry professionals as well
as representatives from
Women in Computing office.
The closet is also currently
accepting donations of busi-
ness suits and blouses. To
donate professional clothing
you may contact [email protected].
Women in Computing at RIT
is continually expanding its
career closet. The Career
Closet includes many suits
and professional wear cloth-
ing for women looking to
interview or go to profes-
sional events. Students may
borrow items from the Career
Closet for free by contacting
Sandra Murphy in the
G R A C E H O P P E R C O N F E R E N C E 2 0 1 0
W O M E N I N C O M P U T I N G C A R E E R C L O S E T
W O M E N I N C O M P U T I N G E V E N T S S U M M A R Y
Professional Advancement:
Affinity Reception
Grace Hopper Confer-
ence
Dress for Success
Interview Panel
NYCWiC Conference
Resume Workshop
Etiquette Lunch
Projecting Confidence
Women’s Career
Achievement Dinner
Dean’s Lecture Series
with Dr. Jeanette Wing
Outreach Opportunities:
Imagine RIT
Two Fairport 5th grade
G&T classes
Two Fairport 8th grade
single gender classes
Fairport 9th grade DDP
class
Cyberettes Club
Experience RIT for Mercy
HS students
Victor Girl Scouts
Honeoye Falls Girl Scouts
Women in Computing pro-
vides many services and
events to our GCCIS women.
Among these were profes-
sional advancement pro-
grams, networking opportuni-
ties, and outreach events.
Networking:
Kickoff Luncheon
Techie Tree Decorating
Contest
Grace Hopper birthday
celebration
PicoCricket outreach
training sessions
“The most
damaging
phrase in the
English
language is
„We‟ve always
done it this way‟
- Grace Hopper
Page 7 S U M M E R 2 0 1 1
universities showcasing their
graduate and doctoral pro-
grams. Key note speakers at
the conference included Duy-
Loan Le, a Senior Fellow at
Texas Instruments, and Bar-
bara Liskov, Turing Award
recipient and MIT researcher.
They spoke on the different
boundaries one must cross in
order to be successful in her
life, including personal, aca-
demic, and career based
boundaries.
20 Lomb Memorial Drive
attn: Sandra Murphy
GOL (bdg 70) room 1005
Rochester, NY 14623
Phone: 585-475-7155
E-mail: [email protected]
facebook: Women in Computing at RIT
website: www.women.rit.edu
Women in
Computing at RIT
is dedicated to
promoting the
success and
advancement of
women in their
academic and
professional
careers.
W O M E N I N C O M P U T I N G A T R I T
Visit us on the web!
www.women.rit.edu
Summer 2011