Building Community at the Grace Hopper Celebration and Tapia Conference

This fall, Northwestern Computer Science sponsored 55 Northwestern students to attend the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing (GHC) and Richard Tapia Celebration of Diversity in Computing Conference — two premier conferences which aim to broaden participation in computing and promote, strengthen, and celebrate diversity in technological fields.

Twenty students attended GHC in Orlando, Florida, and an additional 20 students participated virtually. The world’s largest gathering of women and non-binary technologists, the four-day AnitaB.org flagship event welcomed approximately 30,000 attendees and featured more than 400 speakers and 350 sessions.

In addition, 15 Northwestern students attended the three-day Tapia Conference in Dallas, organized by the Center for Minorities and People with Disabilities in IT (CMD-IT) and the Association for Computing Machinery. The Tapia Conference brings together undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, researchers, and professionals in computing from all backgrounds and ethnicities.

Both the GHC and Tapia Conference programming included career fairs, talks and panels, poster sessions, professional development and networking workshops, and research competitions.

“Tapia is not only a great place for students to network and meet like-minded individuals, but it’s also a fantastic opportunity to help build confidence in underrepresented communities by introducing them to successful role models in the field,” said Andrew Crotty, assistant professor of computer science at Northwestern Engineering, who served as a judge for research competitions at the Tapia Conference. “This was my first time attending, and it was a wonderful experience. I can’t wait to go back next year!”

We asked the students about the importance and benefits of attending this type of network-building conference, their experience attending the events, and an especially resonant piece of advice or perspective they gained from the event.

Anoushka Sarup

Sarup is a third-year student pursuing a bachelor’s degree in computer science with a minor in economics from Weinberg. She is also earning a Managerial Analytics Certificate from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management.

Sarup serves as the internal outreach chair for Women in Computing (WiC), a Northwestern community of women, non-binary, and trans students who are passionate about technology. WiC connects members with mentors and helps them develop technical and interpersonal skills through workshops and leadership opportunities. Since its founding in 2012, WiC members have been active participants in the Grace Hopper Celebration.

Sarup noted the sense of solidarity at the 2023 event.

“My experience at GHC left me really motivated and more sure of my ambitions and career goals for the future,” Sarup said. “This year's conference highlighted how important it is to have safe spaces for underrepresented minorities to come together and lift each other up and has made me all the more proud of the work WiC is doing in our community.”

She underscored the conference’s goal of facilitating connections among peers, mentors, and industry in the computing field.

“Attending GHC allowed me to connect with companies and recruiters face-to-face — something that truly feels invaluable in this day and age of online applications and faceless rejections,” Sarup said. “I walked away having the loveliest experiences with some of the girls I met at GHC and feeling supported and validated.”

Vernon Owenga Otieno

Otieno is a fourth-year student in computer science in Weinberg.

At the Tapia Conference, he learned more about the different career paths in computer science through conversations with representatives from top postgraduate engineering programs, research institutions, government agencies, and a wide range of companies.

At the CMD-IT student professional development workshop, Otieno received constructive feedback on his resume from industry professionals.

During the career fair, he gained insights from company representatives about their work culture, which helped guide his decision-making around applying to different organizations. Otieno also had the opportunity to interview on the spot with select companies.

“One interviewer said this about technical interviews: ‘when you interview with us, our goal is not to make you fail; instead, we want to provide you with the opportunity to showcase your skills and succeed,’” Otieno said “This made job interviews less daunting. I now see them as just a way to showcase what I have learned and a way to learn about how the position fits into my goals.”

Otieno also took advantage of the opportunity to build community.

“I met and established networks with incredible people from different colleges and companies,” he said. “It was also a great to get to know my peers from Northwestern better. We became good friends after the conference.

Nayada (Candy) Tantichirasakul

Tantichirasakul is a fourth-year student earning a bachelor’s degree in computer science with a minor in data science from Weinberg.

Tantichirasakul noted the powerful impact that attending the Grace Hopper Celebration events has had on her Northwestern experience.

“Before my first time attending, it was difficult for me to picture myself pursuing something in the technology space. I enjoyed computer science but there were so many stereotypes associated with pursuing it, which made me assume that I simply did not belong in tech,” Tantichirasakul said. “GHC opened my eyes to the possibilities. I found a community where we could exchange experiences, support each other in our goals and celebrate each other’s success.”

In her role as internal president of WiC, Tantichirasakul is highly motivated to learn and share her experiences at GHC with her peers.

“Conferences like Grace Hopper give me and other women in tech a rare opportunity to explore the different sectors within technology and interact with the women at the forefront of it,” Tantichirasakul said. “Experiences like these are crucial in inspiring our next steps, both in college and as we begin our professional careers.”

Tantichirasakul was particularly motivated by the closing plenary presented by Aisha Bowe founder and CEO of the data analytics and IT modernization firm STEM Board and LINGO, a self-paced home coding kit company. Bowe discussed her journey to become a successful aerospace engineer and entrepreneur after struggling with STEM courses in high school.

“Despite overcoming massive challenges and setbacks, she shared that the only mistake she made was not trusting herself earlier on. This really stuck with me because it was surprising to see such a confident and powerful woman admit to also feeling imposter syndrome,” Tantichirasakul said. “From the outside, it was obvious that she was more than qualified and intelligent enough for the job but that did not matter if she did not believe that about herself. I think her story addressed one of the major reasons why girls are hesitant to pursue a career in tech. Society has made us doubt our abilities to be successful in this area, so I am grateful for experiences like this that help inspire us to overcome that imposter syndrome and believe in our own potential.”