As part of an effort to encourage more young women to choose careers in technology, the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) and the Virginia/DC Affiliate Award for Aspirations in Computing program recognized 25 high school women for their accomplishments and aspirations in computing and technology. The award event was held at the Microsoft facility in Reston, Virginia, and featured a keynote talk by Ms. Natalie Singh, Director of Microsoft Enterprise Services Sales for the US Department of Defense. The event was co-chaired by Dr. Kelly Shaw, Associate Professor of Computer Science and Mathematics at the University of Richmond, and Ms. Libby G. Bradford, Director of Undergraduate Studies in Computer Science at Virginia Tech.
The NCWIT Award for Aspirations in Computing is a program of the National Center for Women & Information Technology, a coalition of over 450 universities, corporations and organizations dedicated to increasing the meaningful participation of women in computing. The NCWIT Award for Aspirations in Computing was created to acknowledge the computing aspirations of young women, introduce them to leadership opportunities in the field, and generate visibility for women’s participation in computing-related pursuits. Award-winners have been selected for their outstanding aptitude and interest in computing and desire to pursue computing-related studies. The NCWIT Aspirations in Computing program is sponsored nationally by AT&T, Bank of America, Bloomberg and Microsoft with additional support from Google, Intel, Motorola Solutions Foundation and Northrop Grumman.
“It is a joy to recognize the computing and technical accomplishments of these outstanding young women from Virginia and the District of Columbia. The knowledge, skills, and experiences they have already acquired are impressive as is their desire to share their passion for computing with other students and the community. They are inspirational,” said Dr. Kelly Shaw, VA/DC co-chair. In the Virginia/DC Affiliate’s five-year history, 174 students have been recognized.
Chinell Callwood, a teacher at Heritage High School Governor’s STEM Academy in Newport News, received the 2016 Outstanding Educator award from the affiliate.
Student winners are:
| First Name | Last Name | School |
| Kathleen | Ascrizzi | Langley High School |
| Juliana | Bain | Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology |
| Zainab | Balogun | Albemarle High School (Virginia) |
| Julia | Burks | Battlefield High School |
| Emilia | Cabrera | Woodson High School |
| Macallan | Cruff | New Horizons Governor’s School |
| Quiana | Dang | Marshall High School (Falls Church VA) |
| Rupali | Dhumne | Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology |
| Celine | Estrada | John Champe High School |
| Madeline | Feigles | Stone Bridge School |
| Kiran | Girish | Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology |
| Sydney | Hatton | William Monroe High School |
| Kavya | Kopparapu | Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology |
| Jessica | Lu | Deep Run High School |
| Elizabeth | McPherson | Colonial Forge High School |
| Sydney | Nixon | West Potomac High School |
| Neejole | Patel | Briar Woods High School |
| Paige | Rutherford | Deep Run High School |
| Sophie | Salomon | Western Albemarle High School |
| Aditi | Takle | South Lakes High School |
| Sasha | Volodin | Washington-Lee High School |
| Michele | Wang | Oakton High School |
| Yunyun | Wang | Hidden Valley High School |
| Corinne | Williams | Maret School |
| Emily | Xu | Manassas Park High School |
Student runners-up are:
| Mahnoor | Asad | South Lakes High School |
| Anusha | Basana | Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology |
| Crystal | Cheung | McLean High School |
| Katherine | Cinnamon | Forest Park High School |
| Henrietta | Clarke | St Catherines School |
| Trishina | Crawley | Appomattox Regional Governor’s School |
| Keenah | Cuaycong | Stone Bridge High School |
| Deepshika | Dhanasekar | Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology |
| Namita | Dongre | Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology |
| Phaith | Dunlap-Tunnage | Heritage High School (Newport News, VA) |
| Isabelle | Gallagher | Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology |
| Elizabeth | Hu | Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology |
| Navya | Kalale | Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology |
| Alexandra | Kemper | Jamestown High School |
| Anusha | Khan | Freedom High School (South Riding, VA) |
| Satvika | Kumar | Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology |
| Jamie | Lee | Patriot High School |
| Sieun | Lee | Marshall High School (Falls Church VA) |
| Tian | Low | Woodbridge High School |
| Alexis | Marra | Jefferson Forest High School |
| Jamie Marie | Pangilinan | Battlefield High School |
| Hojung | Park | Albemarle High School (Virginia) |
| Britney | Phan | Oakton High School |
| Iram | Sharieff | Gar-field High School |
| Laura | Sizemore | Lake Braddock Secondary |
| Hannah | Snesil | Deep Run High School |
| Lauryn | Tideo | Granby High School |
| Michelle | Wu | Princess Anne High School |
| Regina | Yap | Langley High School |
The NCWIT Award for Aspirations in Computing offers both national and local affiliate competitions to generate support and visibility for women’s participation in communities nationwide. The National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) works to correct the imbalance of gender in technology and computing because gender diversity positively correlates with a larger workforce, better innovation, and increased business performance.
The “Aspirations in Computing Awards” event and the gifts received by the winners this year were funded by Bank of America, Eastman Chemical, Fidelity, NetApp, Northrop Grumman, SWIFT, The Washington Post and Virginia Tech. Additional support was provided by Accenture, BEL Network Integration & Support, Deloitte, Level 3 Communications, and Microsoft. Winners receive prizes from multiple companies and two trophies: one for the winner and one to be displayed at her high school.
For more information on the Aspirations program please visit http://www.aspirations.org
Seated: Celine Estrada, Sophie Salomon, Michele Wang, Quiana Dang, Rupali Dhumne, Emily Xu, Zainab Ayoade Balogun
