YWiC @ NMNWSE

On Saturday, November 3, YWiC participated in the 2012 New Mexico Network for Women in Science and Engineering annual meeting at the New Mexico Space History Museum in Alamogordo, NM.

What is the NMNWSE?

NMNWSE is an organization that encourages and helps women enter and succeed in non-traditional careers. The annual meeting provides an opportunity to present technical research/papers in a supportive environment. The NMNWSE also serves as a seed-funding organization for the Expanding Your Horizons conferences throughout the state. To learn more about the EYH opportunities, visit www.nmnwse.org.



YWiC's Role
YWiC's four research assistants attended the annual meeting and presented four posters.

The Action Items that have resulted from the meeting include: 1) Becca, YWiC Coordinator, has been designated as the Fundraising Chair for the Network; 2) YWiC is going to assist the Network in researching more diverse, regional advertising options to increase the exposure of the EYH conferences, and 3) YWiC staff has offered to serve as online mentors for international girls looking to learn more about computer science.

Creating an undergraduate community

YWiC has always been great at working with middle school and high school students, the only thing that was missing was a way to keep the students who had graduated high school engaged with the program and encouraged to continue their pursuit of C-STEM careers.

The solution
In the fall of 2011 YWiC research assistants, along with a few other students in the Computer Science department, founded the NMSU Chapter for Women in Computing, which is now called the NMSU Chapter for Women and Minorities in Computing (WaMiC).

What is WaMiC?

WaMiC is a student organization that strives to:

• Increase the number of female and minority students at NMSU
• Improve the retention of female and minority students enrolled in computer related majors at NMSU
• Promote the advancement of females and minorities in computing fields
• Provide a forum for exchange of information pertinent to female and minority students in computing fields
• Develop a working network with area schools to encourage female and minority students to enter computing fields
• Promote professional advancement for females and minorities in computing fields for fostering cooperation among industry, government, and the academic and professional communities to improve educational and employment opportunities

How does WaMiC actually create an undergraduate community?

That sounds fancy and all, but it is reasonable to question how an organization can attain such goals. WaMiC is led by students. These student officers were elected, because they all have a passion for the recruitment, retention, and advancement of women and minorities in C-STEM, and want to bring the students in the department together. 

WaMic members studying hard!

The group's first initiative was having study sessions, which became very popular.  WaMiC has a good mix of upperclassmen and lowerclassmen, presenting a great opportunity to form those crucial peer-to-peer relationships. Upperclassmen are able to give the lowerclassmen advice on which classes to take and what resources have been helpful. Furthermore, students taking the same classes can collaborate with each other to discuss ideas and hard concepts when faced with a tough assignment. One of the members feels, "the WaMiC study sessions make me want to come to school because now I can find a support system. Computer Science is hard, and there are times when you just want to bang your head against the wall when working on homework. The study sessions really help!"

It isn't enough to just study together, WaMiC aspires to create a fun and friendly environment in the Computer Science department full of fun activities and events to make members and other students feel welcome. Past events have included:

• Fun in the sun at White Sands National Monument
• Bowling Night
• Scavenger Hunt around campus
• Minute to Win It Night
• Ice Cream Socials

White Sands National Monument

Keep up with WaMiC!

Now you can follow all of the cool and exciting things that WaMiC does, and the awesome part is that you have multiple avenues to accomplish this!

Add us on Facebook, Circle us on Google+, and Follow us on Twitter!

Website: http://sites.google.com/site/wicnmsu/home

E-mail: wic.nmsu@gmail.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/NMSU-Chapter-for-Women-in-Computing/138034946291361

Google+: http://gplus.to/wamic

Twitter: @NMSU_WaMiC

CAHSI/SACNAS Conference

NMSU is one of the founding organizations of the Computing Alliance of Hispanic-Serving Institutions (CAHSI). CAHSI's 6th Annual Meeting was held from October 12-14, 2012, in Seattle, WA, and YWiC research assistants got the opportunity to attend and represent NMSU. A really neat aspect of this year's meeting was that CAHSI integrated with the larger SACNAS conference!

What is CAHSI?

"The core purpose of the CAHSI is to create a unified voice in an effort to consolidate the strengths, resources, and concerns of CAHSI institutions that are committed to increase the number of Hispanics who pursue and complete baccalaureate and advanced degrees in computing areas. The core purpose provides the fundamental reason for the Alliance's existence while guiding and inspiring the organization. by working as a focused, unified group, CAHSI efforts have been deliberate and effective."

For more information about CAHSI, you can visit: http://cahsi.cs.utep.edu/ABOUT/AboutCAHSI/tabid/191/Default.aspx. 

What is SACNAS?
"The Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) is a society of scientists dedicated to fostering the success of  Hispanic/Chicano and Native American scientists—from college students to professionals—to attain advanced degrees, careers, and positions of leadership in science ... The goals and outcomes SACNAS hopes to achieve are: 

1. To increase the number of Hispanics/Chicanos and Native Americans with advanced degrees in science and the motivation to be leaders.
2. To increase the number of Hispanics/Chicanos and Native Americans in science research, leadership, and teaching careers at all levels.
3. To increase governmental commitment to advancing Hispanics/Chicanos and Native Americans in science resulting in increased resources, elimination of barriers, and greater equity."

For more information aboout SACNAS, you can visit: http://sacnas.org/about. 

NMSU goes to Seattle! 
The 2012 SACNAS/CAHSI Conference  had a record number of attendees - approximately 3,800! Three YWiC research assistants received scholarships from CAHSI to attend this conference, and proudly attended to represent the Young Women in Computing program and NMSU. For YWiC and NMSU this conference was not just about exploring new places. SACNAS/CAHSI was about making new contacts and networking with other outreach initiatives, and taking advantage of leadership workshops. 

Representing NMSU! 

CAHSI Symposium
The CAHSI Symposium took place before the SACNAS conference started. The day started off with breakfast and a keynote speech by Rosa Enciso Baca from Microsoft. Dr. Pontelli, YWiC's Program Director, gave a presentation outlining all of the outreach activities conducted by CAHSI institutions. 

Research assistant Tasha Nesiba had the opportunity to participate in the CAHSI Student Panel themed "Lessons Learned for Academic or Research Success". Panelists each had a turn to talk about their experiences as a student and share any tips they had learned along the way. 

If you want to check out the slides prepared for the panel by Tasha and Yolian, another CAHSI student on the panel, click HERE. 

Relevant workshops and sessions
This conference provided participants the opportunity to attend special sessions designed to inspire attendees. These sessions varied in content and included sessions featuring technical talks, leadership workshops, research presentations, and in-depth conversations with scientists.  

Over the course of the conference, YWiC members attended sessions including: 

• CAHSI Symposium
• Making New Contacts: Learning to Network Strategically
• Engaging Underrepresented Communities with Science Using Social Networking
• Making Our Voices Heard: Negotiating the Promises and Challenges of STEM Education for Historically Underrepresented Youth
• How Safe Are We From Cyberattacks: Protecting Our Infrastructure and Computers from Intruders
• Effectively Managing Conflict

Conference Speakers
Hugely influential in the success of SACNAS/CAHSI conferences are the keynote speakers and cultural programs. One speaker in particular stood out to our students: Dr. Steven Strogatz. 

"Dr. Steven Strogatz is the Jacob Gould Schurman professor of applied mathematics at Cornell University. A renowned teacher and one of the world's most highly cited mathematicians, he blogs about math for the New York Times and has been a frequent guest on National Public Radio's 'RadioLab'." Dr. Strogatz spoke candidly about past experiences and his journey to finding out what he wanted to accomplish in life, effectively inspiring the audience to pursue their intellectual passions. 

As part of their mission to create awareness and foster feelings of solidarity and community among all peoples, SACNAS and CAHSI incorporate the cultures and customs of people native to the conference site into the conference programming. This year, Native American tribes of the Pacific Northwest were prominently featured in all general conference keynote sessions, presenting Pendleton blankets to speakers at the conclusions of their presentations. Other cultural programs at the conference included:  

• Native American cultural presentation
• Pachanga on Friday evening
• Pow Wow on Saturday evening

To learn more about Dr. Strogatz, other keynote speakers, and more about the cultural programs presented at SACNAS/CAHSI please visit: http://sacnas.confex.com/sacnas/2012/webprogram/meeting.html#2012-10-11.

Out on the Town!
Seattle is an incredible city, featuring tastes and styles from unique and eclectic to urban and high profile. Of course we had to take some time out of our busy schedule to see the city and tour some of its most recognized points of interest including the Seattle Aquarium,  Pike's Place Market, Seattle Gum Wall, Space Needle, Pacific Science Center, and Original Starbucks!

King Tut Exhibit - Science Center

Seattle Aquarium

Our thoughts

"The CAHSI/SACNAS conference was so much fun! It was great to meet new people who are CAHSI members, and I loved learning about the different cultures of the region." - Tasha

"I really enjoyed listening to the keynote speeches, especially Dr. Steven Strogatz. I felt like the experience helped me grow both professionally and academically." - Janie







"Thanks CAHSI for providing me the funding to attend this wonderful conference!" - Jen

Bring on the Inspiration! #ghc12

For the 4th year in a row, YWiC participated in the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing (GHC) on October 3 - 6, 2012!

What is GHC?
"Inspired by the legacy of Admiral Grace Murray Hopper, the Anita Borg Institute's Grace Hopper Celebration is designed to bring the research and career interests of women in computing to the forefront. It is the largest technical conference for women in computing and results in collaborative proposals, networking and mentoring for junior women and increased visibility for the contributors of women in computing. Conference presenters are leaders in their respective fields, representing industry, academia, and government. Top researchers present their work while special sessions focus on the role of women in today's technology fields." (http://gracehopper.org/2012/about/history-of-the-conference/)

NMSU goes to Baltimore! 
The 2012 GHC was held in Baltimore, MD, and had a record number of attendees - approximately 3600!  NMSU/YWiC proudly contributed to that number with 9 students and 1 staff member.

Top: Janie, Jen, Liz, Tasha, Nicole
Bottom: Becca, Steph, Alyssa, Sam, Noor

For YWiC, the conference is not just about having fun in a new city (even though there is always time for exploration). The group strives to make the most out of the conference, by networking with technical women and other outreach programs, attending inspirational keynote speeches, attending relevant workshops/sessions, and presenting YWiC research to share curricula and successful outreach methodologies.

GHC Student Poster Session
For the second year in a row, YWiC presented 2 posters in the student poster session. The abstracts for the posters were:

Young Women in Computing: Expanding Into a Multifaceted Outreach Program - The Young Women in Computing (YWiC) program began in 2006 as part of the National Science Foundation’s Broadening Participation in Computing grant. YWiC focuses on sparking middle school and high school women’s interest in technology fields. Over the past six years, the program has established a successful and sustainable outreach program. Building upon an initial five-week summer camp for high school females, the program has now become a multifaceted computer science community outreach program with a strong foundation in local school districts, as well as New Mexico State University (NMSU).
To view or download the entire poster click HERE.

LilyPad Arduino vs. App Inventor: Effects of Software Development Tools on Female Interest in Technology - Young Women in Computing (YWiC) is an outreach program at New Mexico State University targeting middle and high school females. The program’s latest project has been conducting a city-wide app programming competition for middle and high school students. Teams consist of 2 to 3 students, whose goal is to design a socially beneficial app using the Android platform. YWiC hopes to excite the students about possibilities in computer science, encourage collaboration, and provide them with tools to further their interests in technology. Research will focus on the impact of diversity within groups.
To view or download the entire poster click HERE.


The format of the poster session was pretty casual. Poster presenters spent the evening standing by their posters as conference attendees were free to circulate the area. YWiC research assistants received many interesting questions about their research and networked with other representatives from similar outreach initiatives.

Enjoying the poster session 

Poster session action shot!

Relevant workshops and sessions

GHC provided conference participants the opportunity to attend special sessions designed to inspire attendees. Over the course of the conference, YWiC members attended sessions including: 

• Are We There in Mentoring for Diversity?
• Recruiting and Retaining Women from Underrepresented Groups
• How to Get There: Secrets for Success, in the style of GLEE
• From Engineer to Executive: the Path Forward
• Student Organizations Supporting Women in Computing and Technology: Why & How?
• Tempering the Imposter Syndrome
• Women and Innovation
• Are We There Yet? Education and Innovation for Girls and Women
• Get There by Taking the Lead! NSF Funding Opportunities and Effective Proposal Writing Strategies

Keynote Takeaways

A large part of what makes GHC fabulous are the influential speakers. This year, the most inspirational speaker was Nora Denzel, a Technical Executive and Corporate Board Member for SABA and Overland Storage. 

Nora was an incredible speaker that captivated the audience with her humor and poise. Her 5 tips for women pursuing careers in computing included:

1. Things happen in your career for you, so you shouldn't think of your obstacles as obstacles. Studies have found that attitude is the best indicator of success. A positive good attitude can take you very far in both work and life.
2. It isn't what you know in your job, it's how fast you learn.
3. Act as if you're confident even if you don't always feel that way.
4. Control your career PR Agent... which is you. Control your own "press releases" and don't disclose your faults and limitations unnecessarily. You need to have confidence in yourself, so that others can have confidence in you. Nora said that "performance reviews are like frying bacon. When you're naked, you know it will hurt, you just don't know where". 
5. It takes a village. Make sure you have a network that you nurture. "It's not what you know and who you know. It's who knows that you know what you know".

To learn more about Nora and other GHC speakers visit: http://gracehopper.org/2012/conference/keynotes-plenary-sessions

Fun, fun, fun!

Career fairs don't always have to be boring. At GHC companies and organizations from industry, academia, and government put together fun activities at their booths. This year, Google had a photobooth which proved to be popular!

Baltimore is a beautiful city, so of course there was opportunity for exploration. YWiC/NMSU students took an evening off to explore the Inner Harbor area of Baltimore. Activities included shopping and dinner on the harbor! 

There is just something about shopping that brings people closer together :)

It is worth noting that Baltimore was the site of the first ever YWiC worst outfit contest! The goal was to go into a store and find the worst combination of clothes to try on. It was a blast!

Worst Outfit Contest winner!

Hear from the students

After the conference, students were asked to say a little bit about what they learned or took away from GHC. It shows what a difference GHC makes for students!

"I've learned that lots of progress has been made towards accomplishing the goal of getting women and minorities into C-STEM fields, but we still have a long way to go before this goal is achieved." - Jen

"At conferences like the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing, networking is essential and also happens to be super fun!"  - Janie

"This year was the best! First, I was prepared to talk to companies and network with others. Second, I had a blast with all of the YWiC gals. :) I was proud to be one of the 3,600 technical women attending"  - Noor

"This was my favorite GHC yet. There was great opportunity for networking with others. I had the chance to have several job interviews / assessments, and I left with good leads for my future!"  - Nicole

"This year was a great networking opportunity for me. I was able to meet new people that I will probably be working with in the future, and also people from different companies that are really interesting."  - Liz

"GHC never disappoints me. Every year the conference gets bigger and better, and I love it! It allows me to make new connections and grow my professional network. I wholeheartedly believe in the advancement of women in technology, and it is a wonderful experience being surrounded with so many technical women who believe the same. The powerful speakers, awesome sessions, and wonderful people make it an experience that sends me back to school with tons of inspiration to share!"  - Tasha

"Once again, GHC has inspired me to become a better woman in computing.  Not only did I learn about various topics in the informative sessions, but I was able to network with other women in IT from around the world." - Sam

The Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing has always been a favorite of YWiC. We cannot wait until next year! To see more photos from YWiC's GHC experience check out:  http://bit.ly/R3mJHP 

First Roadshows of the Semester!!

Last week YWIC held four consecutive PicoCricket roadshows. It was a fantastic start to our roadshow season and we couldn't have asked for better students! This post will outline how YWiC conducts roadshows for middle school students. 

What is a roadshow? 

Roadshows have been the foundation for all of YWiC’s work with middle school students. They are presentations to students and are comprised of three parts: 

1. Raising awareness of the diversity and possibilities offered by the field of computing
2. Educating students in concepts of algorithmic design 
3. A hands-on project where concepts are put into practice 

Yay, computer science! 

Who conducts the roadshows?

YWiC has found that students are more engaged and are more comfortable asking questions when presentations are given by YWiC undergraduate research assistants. The research assistants serve as near-peer role models and mentors to the students.

YWiC research assistants - "We love roadshows!"

Everyone was interactive and we loved it.

What is the roadshow curriculum?

During the project phase of the roadshow, students are taught how to use PicoCricket Robotics. The PicoCricket kit includes small hardware pieces, sensors, lights, speaker, motor, and others. 

After introducing all of the pieces and their functions, the students build a base robot from the components.

Once the robot is built, we proceed to teach the student what it takes to program the PicoCrickets using PicoBlocks - the IDE. PicoBlocks is a great tool for students at this level, because all of the programming is drag-and-drop style. 

Teaching PicoBlocks! This is what a roadshow looks like on our end. 

The programming curriculum for this roadshow consisted of learning how to:

• use a light sensor or a sound sensor to power the motor of the PicoCricket
• use a display to show the value of light/sounds measured by the sensor 
• set an LED light color based on the amount of light/sound measured

What makes roadshows extra fun for students?

Not only do students get to experiment with programming hardware pieces, they get to add a creative element to their PicoCricket. YWiC provides students with the opportunity to use arts and crafts to spice up or make their project "prettier". 

Arts and crafts supplies provided.

Students always make the cutest arts and crafts figures!

The PicoCricket kit also includes Lego pieces - students are also fond of these. 

We had some awesome projects at the end of every session!

Its a dump truck!

Saturn!

Roadshow statistics!

Our first roadshows were a great success! We held four sessions for students from Snell Middle School, Vista Middle School, Deming Middle School, and Lynn Middle School. At the end of the day,  we had worked with over 100 students. We loved it and the students loved it - nothing gets better than that! :)