The Nebraska and Southwest Iowa Regional Affiliate 2019 NCWIT Aspirations in Computing Award Celebration was held Sunday, April 7 at the International Quilt Study Center and Museum.
The ceremony recognized young women at the high school level in Nebraska and Southwest Iowa with computing-related achievements and goals. Honorees were selected based on computing and IT aptitude, leadership ability, academic history and plans for post-secondary education. Each student submitted an application in the fall, and all applications were accompanied by an educator endorsement.
The reception was attended by about 100 guests, including Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts, who spoke about the importance of young women in the technology field.
Among the award recipients were 14 winners, 14 honorable mentions, 10 rising stars, one educator, and two honorable mention educators.
2019 Nebraska and Southwest Iowa National Honorable Mention and Affiliate Award Winner:
Victoria Chin, sophomore at Westside High School, Omaha, NE
Winners:
Lauren Bertelsen, junior at Gretna High School, Gretna, NE
Tessa Brazda, senior at Lincoln Lutheran Middle/High School, Lincoln, NE
Lauren Collins, junior at Chadron Senior High School, Chadron, NE
Kyra Creamer, junior at Dorchester High School, Dorchester, NE
Karina Dudley, senior at Millard West High School, Omaha, NE
Lauren Gucwa, senior at Millard West High School, Omaha, NE
April Guerin, senior at Papillion-La Vista South High School, Papillion, NE
Vivian Jacobitz, senior at Westside High School, Omaha, NE
Anna Krueger, senior at Pius X High School, Lincoln, NE
Raeanne Sando, sophomore at Westside High School, Omaha, NE
Taylor Simpson, senior at Gretna High School, Gretna, NE
Jessica Szynskie, senior at Omaha North High School, Omaha, NE
Evelin Vasquez, senior at Lexington High School, Lexington, NE
Honorable Mentions:
Amanda Allbery, sophomore at Marian High School, Omaha, NE
Grace Clausen, senior at Millard North High School, Omaha, NE
Mira Eschilman, freshman at Deshler High School, Ruskin, NE
Cynthia France, junior at Westside High School, Omaha, NE
Jak Gach, junior at Papillion-La Vista South High School, Papillion, NE
Gracyn Green, senior at Millard West High School, Gretna, NE
Olivia Haller, sophomore at Lincoln High School, Lincoln, NE
Diane Huynh, senior at Lincoln High School, Lincoln, NE
Vienne Kemper, sophomore at Omaha North High School, Omaha, NE
Mason (Macy) Klein, freshman at Millard West High School, Gretna, NE
Andrea Kort, senior at Meridian High School, Fairbury, NE
Samantha Stuart, sophomore at Omaha North High School, Omaha, NE
Megan Wallman, junior at High School at Syracuse, Syracuse, NE
Rising Stars:
Ariana Garber, freshman at Bellevue West Senior High School, Bellevue, NE
Madison Haddix, junior at Gretna High School, Gretna, NE
Abby Haye, senior at Marian High School, Omaha, NE
Monica Huse, senior at Marian High School, Omaha, NE
Josie McCormick, sophomore at Heartland Community High School, Bradshaw, NE
Mia McGrath, senior at Marian High School, Omaha, NE
Kaitlin Mejia-Crawford, senior at Millard North High School, Omaha, NE
Jasmine Moberg, freshman at Bellevue West Senior High School, Bellevue, NE
Eleanor Ricketts, senior at Marian High School, Omaha, NE
Annika Thomas, j
unior at Norfolk Senior High School, Norfolk, NE
Educator Award:
Sharon Genoways, Marian High School, Omaha
Educator Honorable Mention:
Kyleigh Lewis, Dorchester High School, Dorchester, NE
Gogi Supenski, Bellevue West Senior High School, Bellevue, NE
Each honoree received a trophy for herself and another for her school, along with some gift bags from NCWIT and local sponsors. Winners received additional $50 Amazon gift cards and scholarship opportunities through the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the University of Nebraska at Omaha, and the University of Nebraska at Kearney. The Educator Award winner also received a cash prize and additional professional development funding.
The National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) is a coalition working to increase diversity in IT and computing. NCWIT believes that greater diversity in computing will create a larger and more competitive workforce, and promote the design of technology that is as broad and innovative as the population it serves. NCWIT focuses on improving diversity across the entire spectrum: K-12 through college education, and on to academic, corporate and entrepreneurial careers. Since 2013, NCWIT has awarded more than 6,400 National and Regional Award winners and honorable mentions, and honored 330 Educator Award recipients.
The NCWIT Aspirations in Computing program is sponsored nationally by Apple, AT&T, Bank of America, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, and Qualcomm, with additional support from Bloomberg, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Motorola Solutions Foundation, and Northrop Grumman.
This year’s event was co-coordinated by assistant professor Brittany Duncan and professor Leen-Kiat Soh of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, lecturer and coordinator for diversity and inclusion Sandy Vlasnik of the University of Nebraska at Omaha, and department chair and professor Sherri Harms of the University of Nebraska at Kearney.
If you are interested in applying for the Aspirations in Computing Awards or participating in this effort, please contact one of the co-coordinators.
More details at: https://www.aspirations.org