The first-ever virtual award ceremony honoring NCWIT Aspirations in Computing (AiC) Award recipients from Michigan recently recognized some of the state's most talented young women with computer-related interests.
Laura Dillon, professor emeritus of computer science and engineering at MSU, served as chair of this year's Michigan event, which was hosted online on May 9.
Teresa VanderSloot, director of Women in Engineering Recruitment and K-12 Outreach in the MSU College of Engineering, assisted Dillon as a member of the 2020 Michigan AiC Steering Committee.
Also assisting was Katherine Perry, a sophomore in computer science, who helped with planning and communications for the ceremony.
Awards, sponsored by the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT), Michigan State University (MSU), Michigan Technological University, and Oakland University, recognize a high school student's computing achievements as part of an effort to encourage more young women to choose careers in technology.
Criteria includes a student's outstanding aptitude and aspirations in technology and computing as demonstrated by their computing experience, computing-related activities, leadership experience, tenacity in the face of barriers to access, and plans for post-secondary education.
Dillon said the turnout was impressive for a virtual celebration.
"National and regional awardees and their families and teachers, Michigan AiC and NCWIT members, and well-wishers from sponsoring companies all gathered in homes across the U.S. to join us by Zoom. There were more than 80 connections," Dillon said.
"We are extremely proud that the National AiC Committee selected 12 Michigan women to receive national awards: one national winner, seven honorable mentions and four certificates of distinction," Dillon continued. "Additionally, from a pool of 117 outstanding applicants, the Michigan AiC Committee selected another 73 Michigan women to receive regional awards: 30 winners, 30 honorable mentions, and 13 rising stars."
Recipients receive an award, prizes, access to resources, scholarships and internship opportunities, and induction into a national community of 15,000 technical women.
Highlights of the 90-minute virtual celebration included:
• Breakout sessions in which award recipients got to learn a little bit about each other and share thoughts about the quarantine.
• A couple of "group photos" of award recipients - see photos on our web page
• A congratulation and words of encouragement from Michigan Lt. Governor Garlin Gilchrist
• An AiC Alumni Panel: Juliet L√©vesque, from the University of Michigan, and Sarah Larkin, from Michigan Tech, described their experiences with AspireIT and as college students in computing - offering advice on everything from internships to being a woman in computing.
• Recognition of the award recipients: Short videos sent in by many of the award recipients showcased a talented and inspiring group of individuals
Two Michigan Educator Awards were presented to teachers known for encouraging careers in technology. The 2020 honorees are:
• Holly Corbett of Fenton High School and
• Richard Lamb of Cranbrook Schools in Bloomfield Hills.
The high school students honored in Michigan this year are:
Alena Song | Michigan Honorable Mention, Greenhills School, Ann Arbor
Veda Srinivas | Michigan Winner, Huron High School, Ann Arbor
Carina Sanborn | National Honorable Mention, Pioneer High School, Ann Arbor
Sarah Ma | National Certificate of Distinction, Pioneer High School, Ann Arbor
Aayana Anand | Michigan Winner, Pioneer High School, Ann Arbor
Anna Vogel | Michigan Winner, Pioneer High School, Ann Arbor
Ariel Mobius | Michigan Winner, Pioneer High School, Ann Arbor
Mandy He | Michigan Winner, Pioneer High School, Ann Arbor
Allayah Tucker | Michigan Honorable Mention, Pioneer High School, Ann Arbor
Helena Heinonen | Michigan Honorable Mention, Pioneer High School, Ann Arbor
Gianna Cordova | Rising Star, Pioneer High School, Ann Arbor
Yongwen Zheng | Rising Star, Pioneer High School, Ann Arbor
Zora Jovicevic | Rising Star, Pioneer High School, Ann Arbor
Maria Cheriyan | National Winner, Detroit Country Day School, Beverly Hills
Subashri Ramesh | National Honorable Mention, Cranbrook Schools, Bloomfield Hills
Lena Elkoussy | Michigan Winner, Dearborn Center for Math, Science, and Technology, Dearborn
Celina Bazzi | Michigan Honorable Mention, Dearborn Center for Math, Science, and Technology, Dearborn
Sammer Saeed | Michigan Honorable Mention, Dearborn Center for Math, Science, and Technology, Dearborn
Shaqyna Ross | Michigan Winner, Cass Technical High School, Detroit
Madolyn Glocksine | Michigan Honorable Mention, Garber High School, Essexville
Isis Diaz | National Certificate of Distinction, Farmington High School, Farmington
Bridget Beale | Michigan Honorable Mention, Farmington High School, Farmington
Allison Hajec | Michigan Winner, Fenton High School, Fenton
Claire Grob | Michigan Honorable Mention, Fenton High School, Fenton
Gabriella Stickney | Michigan Honorable Mention, Fraser High School, Fraser
Megan Gill | Rising Star, Fraser High School, Fraser
Alyssa Shelton | Michigan Winner, Hartland High School, Hartland
Melody Denby | Michigan Winner, Hartland High School, Hartland
Camryn Ihrke | Michigan Honorable Mention, Hartland High School, Hartland
Kayla O'Donnell | National Honorable Mention, Kalamazoo Area Math and Science Center, Kalamazoo
Lesly Mares-Castro | National Honorable Mention, Kalamazoo Area Math and Science Center, Kalamazoo
Shelby Alexander | National Honorable Mention, Kalamazoo Area Math and Science Center, Kalamazoo
Amiti Goel | National Certificate of Distinction, Kalamazoo Area Math and Science Center, Kalamazoo
Tavishi Budagavi | National Certificate of Distinction, Kalamazoo Area Math and Science Center, Kalamazoo
Kendalyn Fruehauf | Michigan Winner, Kalamazoo Area Math and Science Center, Kalamazoo
Anna Buck | Michigan Honorable Mention, Kalamazoo Area Math and Science Center, Kalamazoo
Anna Kitagawa | Michigan Honorable Mention, Kalamazoo Area Math and Science Center, Kalamazoo
Ava Apolo | Michigan Honorable Mention, Kalamazoo Area Math and Science Center, Kalamazoo
Freya Kailing | Michigan Honorable Mention, Kalamazoo Area Math and Science Center, Kalamazoo
Jessaly Zhu | Michigan Honorable Mention, Kalamazoo Area Math and Science Center, Kalamazoo
Katherine Xendzova | Michigan Honorable Mention, Kalamazoo Area Math and Science Center, Kalamazoo
Khadijah Siddiqui | Michigan Honorable Mention, Kalamazoo Area Math and Science Center, Kalamazoo
Lauren DeHaan | Michigan Honorable Mention, Kalamazoo Area Math and Science Center, Kalamazoo
Sydney Hyde | Michigan Honorable Mention, Kalamazoo Area Math and Science Center, Kalamazoo
Abigail Earl | Rising Star, Kalamazoo Area Math and Science Center, Kalamazoo
Abigail Houtrow | Rising Star, Kalamazoo Area Math and Science Center, Kalamazoo
Alyssa Park | Rising Star, Kalamazoo Area Math and Science Center, Kalamazoo
Anna Tai | Rising Star, Kalamazoo Area Math and Science Center, Kalamazoo
Genevieve Kim | Rising Star, Kalamazoo Area Math and Science Center, Kalamazoo
Lydia Allabaugh | Rising Star, Kalamazoo Area Math and Science Center, Kalamazoo
Kayla Jones | Michigan Winner, University High School Academy, Lathrup Village
Mary Jiang | National Honorable Mention, Churchill High School, Livonia
Alyssa Anderson | Michigan Winner, Churchill High School, Livonia
Kiran Sequeira | Michigan Winner, H.H. Dow High School, Midland
Abigail Yoo | Rising Star, H.H. Dow High School, Midland
Madeleine Hong | Rising Star, H.H. Dow High School, Midland
Ashley Siegmund | Michigan Winner, Midland High School, Midland
Edie Haase | Michigan Winner, Midland High School, Midland
Eleanor Haycock | Michigan Winner, Midland High School, Midland
Jaime Brooks | Michigan Winner, Midland High School, Midland
Julianna Thompson | Michigan Winner, Midland High School, Midland
Maylee Rielle | Michigan Winner, Midland High School, Midland
Therese Joffre | Michigan Winner, Midland High School, Midland
Abigail Haag | Michigan Honorable Mention, Midland High School, Midland
Alexandra Swanson | Michigan Honorable Mention, Midland High School, Midland
Courtney Collamer | Michigan Honorable Mention, Midland High School, Midland
Eden Ozkan | Michigan Honorable Mention, Midland High School, Midland
Meghana Srinivas Reddy | Michigan Honorable Mention, Midland High School, Midland
Nicole James | Michigan Honorable Mention, Midland High School, Midland
Magdalana Gorby | Michigan Honorable Mention, Reeths-Puffer High School, Muskegon
Ashley Oleksy | Michigan Winner, Negaunee High School, Negaunee
Serena Fan | Michigan Honorable Mention, Novi High School, Novi
Elise Pridoehl | Michigan Winner, Stoney Creek High School, Rochester Hills
Kelly Morck | Michigan Winner, Eisenhower High School, Shelby Twp
Hannah Dunn | Michigan Honorable Mention, Eisenhower High School, Shelby Twp
Shreya Kalyan | Michigan Honorable Mention, Athens High School, Troy
Christine Zeng | National Honorable Mention, Troy High School, Troy
Lily Yang | Michigan Winner, Troy High School, Troy
Abigail Liang | Michigan Honorable Mention, Troy High School, Troy
Sonnet Xu | Rising Star, Troy High School, Troy
"We need the talents of these young women to meet the country's technology needs. Our workforce needs their innovative creativity and energy," Dillon added.