Occupation: Communication Specialist / CodeCrush Director
Who she is: "I respect passion, honesty, and optimism."
Q: What is a regular work day like for you?
A: Like a lot of people, every day is different. But a usual day involves a nice morning of drinking coffee and checking my emails, a few meeting about press releases or social media plans, and checking over our website and other colleges' sites/blogs to see if they're doing anything interesting or I can find inspiration. I hit my big creative stride later in the day - so I like to save my projects that need strategy or big creativity for when I can close my door and put my head down. I usually work until 6 or later because of this.
Q: What do you love most about your career/major?
A: The sky's the limit. It's a really big "if you dream it, you can make it" atmosphere at my workplace, which is inspiring. I'm able to pull off some really amazing creative endeavors, all that have a bigger purpose of encouraging otheres to live their best life. I get to be a coach, a feminist, a cheerleader, a copywriter, a creative director, a everything during my day job.
Q: When did you become inspired to partake in tech? What was your inspiration?
A: I spent a few years in San Francisco and was surrounded by the ever-changing, ever-inspiring atmosphere that is the Silicon Valley. Not being a huge tech-centric person to begin with, I slowly gravitated towards it after being dragged to many events and conversations with people who work in the industry. I saw a big opportunity when I was looking to move back to Nebraska with working at the College of Information Science and Technology - I would be able to combine my love for education and innovation, while empowering others to live their dreams.
Q: What prepared you the best for your job/major today?
A: Moving. I've had some great jobs, I've had some horrible jobs, and I've lived all over the U.S. Having those experiences, often completely alone in a new city, made me independent and strong. I've learned a lot from even my worse managers, about how to be thorough, quick, and creative. I think everyone needs to get their butt-kicked some time in order to become a better person and develop hard work ethic.
Q: What is the biggest obstacle you've been faced with, and how are/did you overcoming/overcome it?
A: I worked on a team that often left me wondering if I was bad at my job, when really it was just a bad atmosphere for me. It left me with a lot of emotional scars that had a hard time healing when I moved on to my next gig. Having a support system, and eventually a manager who believed in me, helped me realize that I am actually really good at my job and that a key component for me succeeding is having a supportive team.
Q: What non-tech skill do you find most helpful/important that's for your career?
A: Being a clear communicator. If you can't write an email, a slack message, or hold a comprehensive meeting, you can't get your job done.
Q: Where do you see yourself in ten years?
A: I currently run CodeCrush, and I have a big dream of making it a national or global program. While I may not be running that specific program in 10 years, I hope to be running something similar that empowers young girls to overcome stereotypes, misconceptions and sexism to really acheive their dreams.
Q: What are some of your interests outside tech?
A: I love creative writing, my book club, photo taking, biking, piano playing, cooking, and sand volleyball playing. Basically, I live in Portlandia.
Q: What are your plans for future projects?
A: Currently, we received a grant to expand CodeCrush to serve even more girls interested in tech. I'm in the middle of planning our first ever CodeCrush Summit - a place where we're bringing together everyone who supports diversity in IT. We want this to be THE event where an entire community of people fighting for this cause can come together and work together. From high schoolers, to educators to non-profit keaders to business go-getters, they can all come support each other at the Summit.
Q: What advice would you give a young person interested in tech now?
A: Find what you love about it. It's not just about coding, so don't let that turn you off if it's not what you love. There's opportunities in science, medicine, art, music, gaming... whatever you think is cool. There's not a stereotypical person who's in tech, because we're all daily users of it now. Chase what you love about it.
