The CSE department at UNL, with support from Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and Intel, will sponsor a group of UNL students to attend the Grace Hopper Celebration (GHC) (http://gracehopper.org/).
GHC is a large conference, with 15,000 participants, that brings the research and career interests of women in computing to the forefront and seeks increased visibility for the contributions of women to computing.
At GHC you can interact with a wide variety of women interested in computing. You can make lasting connections with peers, as well as meet successful and prominent women in academia and industry. You can meet potential mentors who can help you not only in your technical careers, but also your personal development. At the conference you will get to hear from leaders in both research and industry, e.g., CEOs from companies like Microsoft or Youtube, Turing Award winners. You will hear from experts about the latest technical trends, but also about their own personal journey and how they have balanced work and life to attain their success.
UNL has sent 36 students to GHC over the past two years and they have many positive things to say about their experience:
- my favorite thing was "just being around a whole lot of people (women) who love computers just as much as me."
- "I liked the career fair, I got a chance to talk to people from different companies and we got a lot of swag! (yay)"
- "The opportunity to explore different fields and discover where my interests lie is very valuable."
- "I loved the keynote talks and afternoon plenaries. All of them were so inspiring."
- "My favorite part was hearing stories from other students and knowing I wasn't alone in the thoughts I was feeling."
- "It was also cool to meet 'celebrities' in our field and see how quirky and fun their personalities are. It made me feel like I finally fit in somewhere."
GHC is being held October 19-21, 2016 in Houston, Texas. The UNL group will leave on the 18th and return on the 22nd. Students selected to attend will have all of their expenses paid. Our faculty are very supportive of student participation and will accommodate absences for the trip.
All students are welcome to apply. Both undergraduates and graduate students who have never attended GHC are welcome. Students who have already attended are welcome to apply to serve in a leadership position for the 2016 UNL GHC cohort.
Applying to attend Grace Hopper in 2016 is easy. Just write a short letter stating your name, an email address that you check over the Summer so that we can contact you, your major, your year in school and describe three things:
1) Why you want to go to Grace Hopper and what you hope to get out of the trip
2) One suggestion to improve inclusion and diversity in UNL CSE programs.
3) How you will contribute to promoting diversity in computing.
Submit your letter as a PDF file to "diversity@cse.unl.edu". All applications received by May 5, 2016 will be given full consideration.