WiTT News

When creativity merges with science, talents and untapped passions are discovered. During the three-day wearable technology workshop, a group of middle and high school girls began to develop and utilize creative, digital skills through the creation of tech-based projects. 

Ahmed Baali, Field Engineering Investigation from Nissan North America, visited our STEM workshop to speak about the implementation of technology in the automotive industry. The students were engaged and inquisitive, which is indicative of interest and newfound passion. 

We hope that, by raising awareness and providing such opportunities, more young girls will enter the STEM field in the future. STEM is a dynamic field, and to guarantee success in the modern world, we must inform the youth of the importance of technology.

Feedback from Students

“I have always been interested in the medical field since I’ve never been exposed to engineering. However, after this camp I will be considering engineering. This camp was awesome, and I learned so much while having fun. I would want students in the schools to learn how to put lights and sounds into card-making. It was such a cool way to express our creativity and design through the engineering design process”. Ramya Vadapalli, 10th Grade, Ravenwood High School

“I loved this workshop more than I thought I would. I am glad my mom made me come. The part I liked the most was when we made our own stuffed object and we put LED lights in it wherever we wanted it to light up”. Kevelyn Syas, 11th Grade, Oakland High school

“I really liked this session, it opened new doors that I didn’t even know were possible and I had so much fun while doing so. My favorite part was sewing my car together and seeing it light up. Overall, it was an experience that I definitely recommend.” Sloane Chestler, 10th Grade, Ensworth School

Join us at INTERFACE Nashville 2018 September 13th, 2018 WITT invites you to attend a CPE-accredited educational conference for IT professionals focusing on the latest developments in this constantly changing information technology environment. As a key-influencer on the evaluation of IT solutions, INTERFACE was developed for you. Click here for more information and to register.

Microsoft DigiGirlz Day is a one day event held at Nissan North America’s headquarters designed to provide middle and high school girls with a better understanding of what a career in technology is like and offer them the opportunity to interact and connect with businesses, organizations, and professionals from the IT industry.

WiTT participated in two important ways: our Member at Large for Outreach, Joumana Rahime, spoke on a panel about her experience as a woman in the technology field and inspired more girls to pursue their passion for tech.

WiTT also had a booth in the career exploration portion of the day and shared the variety of opportunities WiTT offers, from scholarships to connections and ongoing education. What an exciting event to be part of. We definitely plan to make participate again next year!

We are so excited to kick-off this program and so are these young females! We meet at Lipscomb University on March 21st to meet the mentees and introduce them to their mentors.

We have 9 mentees so far and 8 mentors and so appreciative to these volunteers who will have a huge impact in the lives of our future Tech Leaders. You will have the opportunity to meet our mentees at future WiTT meetings as well as can volunteer to be a mentor if this is an area of passion for you. If you would like to learn more please reach out via the WiTT Website under Outreach. We would love to have you as we progress forward with this program and very confident it will continue to grow.

A special thanks to Emilie Francis, WiTT Coordinator, and to our Lipscomb team, Shawna Denny, Administration & Coordination and Brett Ramsey, Associate Director Computing & Technology Recruiting as we could not have done this without them.

Teen Tech week was a great success. With the support of our awesome volunteers, we were able to respond to four different schools in the Metro Nashville Public Schools, ran 8 different sessions, and provided opportunities to over 200 young girls to explore the word of Technology. The girls had the chance to interact with professionals from the industry and engage in various STEM-based activities. Amanda Bell from Jackson National, Talia Di Domenico from Plow Group, and Allison Klingelhoets from Tractor Supply assisted with coding activities introducing students to the basics of HTML and CSS while building their very first webpage portfolio.

Other activities included basic circuitry and electronic programming; according to some students, learning how to program microprocessors gave them a sense of empowerment, excitements, and interests in learning more. We also had amazing speakers joining us to speak to our students. Anca Pop from Striker Advisory talked about Cyber Security and the need of female in this area. Nanette Brooks from Lean Solutions Services spoke about STEM careers and how to score in STEM highlighting another meaning of the Entrepreneur in STEM. A special “Thank You” goes to Emilie Francis from Plow Group for her time and effort to help pulling this event together.

Here's what some of the participants had to say:

" On Thursday 03.08.2018, and Friday 03.09.2018, during Teen Tech Week, there was a life changing event at Apollo Middle School. Each day, 50 young ladies gathered in my Robotics Class and had the distinct pleasure of being taught microprocessors under the direction of Mrs. Joumana Rahime from WiTT (Women in Technology). It was absolutely amazing. To see all the excitement, and success of the young ladies was extraordinary. The News Crew at Apollo came and videotaped the event, did interviews, and showed the event to the entire school. The response was huge! Now even more girls are interested in learning microprocessors. We were awarded four microprocessors by Mrs. Rahime!!! We are asking for help to get a total of 32 Lilypad Arduino microprocessors, so we can teach a class of 32 girls. I can't wait to organize another event with WiTT. Thank you for the opportunity to help so many young ladies see that they have the skills and determination needed to be successful in Engineering and Technology.” 

- Yvette Tolliver, STEM+Arts+Robotics Instructor, Apollo Middle Prep

“I loved the session; my favorite part was being able to create things.”

- Hoda, Overton High School

“What we learned today was very cool! I now know how web coding works and learn a lot about coding.” 

- Sobirjon, Oliver Middle School

“My favorite part was to program the LED lights to turn on and off in a pattern.” 

- Kiyah, Apollo Middle School

“It was really good to learn about all the different STEM careers and the salaries.” 

- Alexander, Antioch High School

Thursday, March 8     6-8 pm

We are celebrating International Women's Day by throwing a big celebration for women in tech community in Nashville! Once a year, WomenGetIT, WiTT, Girl Geek Dinner, Tech Ladies, Nashville Women Programmers, and other women in tech organizations get together for one big bash. You don't want to miss this unique networking event!

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For more information or to register, click here.

In January, five WiTT Board members were the guest speakers at MTSU’s Association of Information Technology Professionals (AITP) meeting. Panelists gave their insight, guidance and perspective on various important topics in the tech Industry. 

The discussion included advice for bridging the gender gap, most important skills for a recent graduate, how to challenge yourself and keep your enthusiasm for your career alive, and many more excellent questions submitted by the students.

The students had a lot of great questions and were very engaged with and appreciative of hearing our stories. We were amazed that the room filled to capacity with standing room only!Here’s what Holly Yasui, Vice President for AITP chapter, said of the event:

"I just want to say a huge thank you from AITP and me personally! You guys did amazing, as I knew you would. I have already had students come, and tell me how much they enjoyed it. Students have cited things all of you said that has inspired them, or challenged them in some way. [One of the students] told me that listening to all of you inspired him, and helped him see that he too has something to offer not just the IT community, but the world."

We will continue to partner with MTSU wherever they need us and look forward to more engagement opportunities where we can help inspire both female and male students.

Exposure is a key to inspiring individuals and sparking interests in the field of technology. That's exactly what happened during the Hour of Code session that we conducted last year at Two Rivers Middle school. 

Nora Moses, the Library Media Specialist, had invited us to engage her students with a hands-on coding activity. After the session, she was so inspired that she later quit her job to pursue education in Technology. She is currently undergoing a program at Nashville Software School with aspiration to re-career in Software Development. 

Connie Sharp, the Librarian Training & Development Specialist who also attended the Hour of Code session last year, invited us to participate in October's Librarian Professional Development Day where we conducted a coding training session for the Librarians and Media Specialists at Metro Nashville Public Schools.

We're excited to share these stories of how education and outreach introduced a new group of women to tech-related skillsets and job opportunities. Find out more about WiTT’s community outreach initiatives and how you can get involved.

Thank you to all of our sponsors, volunteers, and players!

#tee4tech

The camp was a success! There were a total of twelve girls attending, ranging between fifth graders thru tenth. This was a unique program that provided the initial building blocks of creating Wearable Technology. The activities provided students with a unique opportunity to learn about the engineering process, computer programming, basic circuity and sewing. It was very rewarding seeing the young girls loving and getting excited about creating programmable e-textiles. 

Comments from the Attendees: 

Student Information:

Gitanjali (Anjali) Rao, 7^th Grade, Brentwood Middle School

How did you like this camp and what was your favorite part?

I loved this camp! I really enjoyed sewing with the electrical thread. I never knew there was such thing and you can make a lot of different stuff light up!

What do you think you will be pursuing as a field?

I want to go into either biomedical field or artificial intelligence

Comments

I just wanted to say that this camp was one of my all-time favorite camps and I would definitely want to come back. I am also glad I got the opportunity to be part of this camp and it helped me learn several different things that I would have never known. Thank You so much!

Student Information:

Mica Mancini, 8^th Grade, Page Middle School

How did you like this camp and what was your favorite part?

I loved it. I love to learn new things and this camp opened my eyes to the world of technology.

What do you think you will be pursuing as a field?

Possibly technology after doing this camp.

Student Information:

Shreeti Amit, 8^th, Page Middle School

How did you like this camp and what was your favorite part?

This camp was very fun and has taught me a lot. My favorite part was coding to make our development boards light up.

What do you think you will be pursuing as a field?

Previously, I wanted to go into a medical career. But this camp has sparked my interest towards technological careers.

 Comments

Thank you for a wonderful time and all the things I have been taught.

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