My name is Cyan and this has been my second time attending Grace Hopper Celebration. My experience last year was amazing. As a then sophomore, I came in with the perspective of wanting to take everything in and being inspired. This year as a junior, I still wanted to experience that same level of interest.
Day 1:
I woke up early in an attempt to beat the traffic. I caught the 6:30 bus, registered, ate breakfast, and made my way to the arena for the opening ceremony with a few other Duke students. Because we arrived so early, we were able to sit towards the very front!
I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the speakers, especially Jessica Matthews, co-founder of Uncharted Power. In addition to being an engaging speaker, she kept it real and was honest about her not always having a plan with what she wanted to do with her life. However, she was still able to find success with her business (which harnesses the energy from motion to generate power for communities around the world, how cool is that?). The advice she left us with is that our plan isn’t always our destiny. As a college student and as a woman of color, her talk resonated with me and made me feel ready to take on the world.
I spent nearly all day in the career expo speaking to recruiters and technologists and learning about what they do. It was helpful for me to learn more about what opportunities exist out there, especially in the entertainment industry which is where I hope to be one day.
Day 2:
I had a great time at the “Minnie Meetup” with the Walt Disney Company! It began with a screening of Disney Pixar’s Bao that was preceded by a personal message from creators of the adored short. Afterwards, I got to hear from a panel of women who work for the Walt Disney Company. They spoke about what they do, their enthusiasm towards the “magic” Disney provides, the importance of both mentorship and sponsorship, and provided us with some great advice. I also enjoyed having the chance to speak one-on-one with a current Disney intern and hearing about her experience!
Day 3:
I couldn’t believe how fast the conference went by. My day started with manning the Duke Computer Science booth. A recent Duke graduate stopped by and spoke about her excitement for the Duke Technology Scholars Program. It wasn’t around when she graduated but she thought it is a great initiative that she expressed a desire to want to engage with on an alumni level.
It was my last chance to meet more people in the career expo and I made sure to take advantage of that. In addition to speaking to more companies, I stopped by university booths to learn more about research programs they offered. While in line to get a headshot from LinkedIn, I had a great conversation with the person standing behind me.
Final Thoughts:
I loved my experience at GHC this year. I met fabulous female technologists who are doing some really cool things in the field. I learned more about the possibilities within the areas of technology that I’m interested in. And finally, I was truly inspired and am looking forward to continuing on in my Computer Science related coursework at Duke!
