Young Women in Computing: 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: