For more information on these pro-

grams, contact Women in Comput-

ing Program Coordinator, Sandra

Murphy (sjmwic@rit.edu) or Women

in Computing Executive Director,

Sharon Mason (spmics@rit.edu).

Women in Computing has contin-

ued its tradition of providing ca-

reer advancement, social, net-

working and outreach opportuni-

ties to GCCIS students this year,

and has recently expanded its

programs into four different ar-

eas.

PROPEL-The PROPEL

(Professional Development,

Preparation, Education, and Lead-

ership) program offers a series of

events to promote the profes-

sional preparation of students

before they enter the workforce.

Events include a resume writing

seminar, business etiquette

lunch, and professional network-

ing sessions.

SOAR—The SOAR (Student Oppor-

tunities and Activities in Re-

search) program offers students

opportunities to learn about how

to engage in research.

INSPIRE—The INSPIRE program

involves GCCIS women in com-

puting sharing their experi-

ences with school age girls to

provide inspiration and insights

as to what is involved in a com-

puting career. This program

includes a WIC Roadshow and a

series of events where Girl

Scouts and younger students

are invited to the RIT campus to

be inspired by computing.

BALANCE—The BALANCE pro-

gram is a series for women

(faculty, staff, and students) to

learn about balance in their

lives. Events include a panel

discussion of family and work

balance, a day to learn tech-

niques for stress reduction and

noon-time yoga.

W O M E N I N C O M P U T I N G A T R I T P R O G R A M E X P A N S I O N

I N T E R V I E W P A N E L D I S C U S S I O N

Four corporate women from local

businesses joined WIC for a panel

discussion focusing on interview-

ing skills. Attending were: Rita

Tomlinson, Sr. Manager of Corpo-

rate Recruiting from Global Cross-

ing; Tanya Gmitter, Corporate

Recruiter from One Communica-

tions, Trisha Buscemi, Corporate

Recruiter, Human Resources from

Wegman’s Food Markets; and

Mary Pat Cottengim, R&D Systems

Engineer from Ortho Clinical Diag-

nostics. The group answered

questions ranging from what to say

at the interview to how to handle

difficult situations. Many thanks to

the GCCIS advisors in the co-op

and career services office for help-

ing coordinate this event!

WO

ME

N I

N C

OM

PU

TI

NG

A

T R

IT

N E W S L E T T E R D A T E

S U M M E R 2 0 1 1

W O M E N I N C O M P U T I N G A T R I T

I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E :

T E C H I E T R E E 2

P R O J E C T I N G

C O N F I D E N C E 3

N Y C W I C

R E G I O N A L

G R A C E H O P P E R

C O N F E R E N C E

4

D R . J E A N E T T E

W I N G — D E A N ’ S

L E C T U R E

S E R I E S

4

W O M E N I N

C O M P U T I N G

O U T R E A C H

P R O G R A M S

5

W O M E N ’ S

C A R E E R

A C H I E V E M E N T

6

G R A C E H O P P E R

C O N F E R E N C E

2 0 1 0

7

S P E C I A L P O I N T S

O F I N T E R E S T :

Women in Computing

Program Expansion

Grace Hopper

Regional and National

Conferences

Our CS conference

Women in Computing

Outreach Programs

Editor: Sandra Murphy, Women in Computing Program Coordinator. If you have any information you would like to share in future newsletters, please email wic@rit.edu.

Summer 2011

A week before the September

job fair, Women in Computing

gathered for a resume writing

workshop. Students learned

what formats to use for their

resumes and how to phrase

and include critical informa-

tion in their resumes. Jill

Jablonski from Career Services

showed examples of technical

resumes, and explained com-

mon errors and how to avoid

them. One should use action

words to explain past projects

and co-op positions to help

make her resume stand out

from others. Students should

always remember to custom-

ize their resumes to the posi-

tion for which they are apply-

ing, and also include

“buzzwords” which some em-

ployers may use to filter out

their resume from another.

ming language, COBOL.

While working at Harvard on

the IBM Mark II, a moth was

found to be stuck in one of

the relays that formed part of

the machine, causing her to

remark that they were

“debugging” the system.

“Amazing” Grace Hopper died

in 1992 at the age of 85.

Almost until the end of her

life, she was active lecturing

and speaking at universities

and computer seminars on

Women in Computing cele-

brated National Computer

Science Week (December 5-

11, 2010) by not only deco-

rating the “Techie Tree,” but

by also celebrating Grace

Hopper’s birthday on Decem-

ber 9. Grace Hopper was one

of the first programmers to

work on the new Harvard IBM

Mark I computer back in

1944. She developed the

first ever compiler, which

later became the program-

the importance of change.

“Our young people are the

future. We must provide for

them. We

must give

them the

positive lead-

ership they

are looking

for...You man-

age things;

you lead peo-

ple.”

R E S U M E W O R K S H O P

G R A C E H O P P E R B I R T H D A Y C E L E B R A T I O N

T E C H I E T R E E D E C O R A T I N G C O N T E S T

As a welcome back to school

at the beginning of winter

quarter, Women in Comput-

ing sponsored its second

annual Techie Tree Party.

Students from GCCIS as well

as other colleges, came for

lunch and then transformed

old computer parts into fun

holiday decorations. Winner

of the most original ornament

this year was Sarah Wagner,

a fourth year IT major, who

transformed a floppy disk

into a penguin decoration.

One student commented on

the event, saying; “This orna-

ment making made my day!”

“The Techie

Tree event is an

opportunity for us to

get together socially

and network in more

of a casual, relaxed

setting. It’s a great

opportunity for

students to connect

with faculty, staff

and each other.”

- Sandra Murphy,

WiC Program

Coordinator

Page 2 W O M E N I N C O M P U T I N G A T R I T

Noel Dasta, 3rd yr medical informatics

The etiquette of how to act

during an interview meal can

be a difficult place for a stu-

dent to navigate. For the

second year, Women in Com-

puting hosted an etiquette

lunch for our students to

learn the etiquette of busi-

ness dining. Women in Tech-

nology and Women In Engi-

neering also attended this

event, the first in a three part

co-operative series of career

focused technical events.

Etiquette is so much more

than which fork to use—

students learned the differ-

ent styles of dining, and how

to proceed at a buffet as well

as a sit down served meal.

Interviewees were told that

they need to give the impres-

sion of being a polished and

knowledgeable professional

so that they can interact with

companies’ customers, cli-

ents, colleagues, and com-

petitors. Students also

learned that during the inter-

view meal their focus should

definitely be on the interview

and not the food!

participated in many exer-

cises, one of which had stu-

dents create their 30 second

elevator speech (a profes-

sional introduction of them-

selves and their goals), then

practice it with their peers,

and finally practice with cur-

rent professionals from

Xerox, Kodak, and RIT. Stu-

dents were also given great

In March, Women in Technol-

ogy completed our co-

operative series with a pres-

entation on Projecting Confi-

dence. The purpose of this

event was to help students

prepare to meet employers

and learn how to “sell” them-

selves. Pamela Spiteri of

Drama Kids International led

the presentation. The group

hints on interviewing includ-

ing asking the question,

“What are the chal-

lenges your company are

going through now?”

Students left this semi-

nar very well prepared

for the job fair, interview-

ing, and meeting profes-

sional contacts in the

workforce.

E T I Q U E T T E L U N C H

P R O J E C T I N G C O N F I D E N C E

D R E S S F O R S U C C E S S / W H A T N O T T O W E A R

Following the January col-

laborative workshop hosted

by Women in Computing, the

Women in Engineering group

hosted a “What Not to Wear”

Event. This event showcased

students from the three

groups modeling professional

clothing from Dress Barn for

different interview situations.

Dress codes for casual work-

places, holiday parties, and

government jobs were ad-

dressed. A Mary Kay

“Confidence

is the

companion

of success“

- Anonymous

Page 3 S U M M E R 2 0 1 1

Katie Grenier (human computer interaction)

Noel Dasta (medical informatics)

Ihudiya Ogburu, 5th year information technology

consultant gave suggestions

on professional makeup and

hair styles. Dress for Success

was hosted just prior to the

career fair, enabling students

to create an appearance to

make a great first impression.

On April 8, 2011, fifteen stu-

dents and faculty headed to

Albany, NY for the first New

York Celebration of Women in

Computing, a regional confer-

ence emulating the national

Grace Hopper Conference.

This conference intended to

promote the academic, social

and professional growth of all

who attended. At the two day

event, students had the op-

portunity to present papers,

posters, and give presenta-

tions and lightning talks on

work and research they have

conducted at RIT or while on

cooperative work assign-

ments. Keynote speaker Dr.

AJ Brush spoke on Everyday

Technology for Families, and

keynote speaker Dr. Julie

Adams spoke on human-

robot interaction. More than

150 students, faculty, and

staff attended the confer-

ence which was organized by

RIT, University of Albany,

Sienna College, and Union

College professors. The next

planned regional conference

will be in 2013.

Angelic Brown, third year New

Media Student, attended the

2011 OurCS Conference.

The conference was a culmi-

nation of industry and educa-

tional professionals, and

distinguished female college

students. The conference

focused mainly on providing

the conference attendees

with useful research experi-

ence to better prepare them

for their future career paths.

The conference featured

many distinguished speakers

including Justine Casell,

Tracy Camp, and Lenore

Blum. Women in Computing

sent Angelic Brown, a third

year new media student to

the conference this year.

Angelic was able to sit and

talk with Professor Alan

Black, a Professor of Lan-

guage Technologies at Carne-

gie Mellon, and hear about

his group’s fascinating re-

search on Mimic, an Auto-

matic System to mimic hu-

man speech. His research

N Y C W I C — R E G I O N A L G R A C E H O P P E R C O N F E R E N C E

O U R C S C O N F E R E N C E

D R . J E A N E T T E W I N G — D E A N ’ S L E C T U R E S E R I E S

with Dr. Wing before her talk.

Dr. Wing spoke on Computa-

tional Thinking. Students

were interested to hear her

thoughts on machine learn-

ing and discovering how it is

revolutionizing so many dif-

ferent fields including statis-

tics and sports nutrition. One

statement that Dr. Wing men-

tioned during her lecture that

stuck with students most was,

"What you can do in software

is only limited by your imagina-

tion. No other engineering can

do that; only Computer Sci-

ence." A student commented

on Dr. Wing’s words, “Those

words have inspired me to

diversify my studies to incorpo-

rate more computer science

material.“

Dr. Jeanette Wing, the Presi-

dent’s Professor of Computer

Science from Carnegie Mel-

lon University, visited RIT as

one of the distinguished

speakers for the GCCIS

Dean’s Lecture Series this

year. Women in Computing

together with the Dean’s

Office hosted a luncheon for

GCCIS students to interact

“To me

programming is

more than an

important

practical art. It

is also a gigantic

undertaking in

the foundations

of knowledge.”

-Grace Hopper

Page 4 W O M E N I N C O M P U T I N G A T R I T

group constructed a system

that synthesized human

speech and performed voice

conversion. Angelic had the

opportunity to work on a re-

search project while at the

conference on Understanding

Facebook Users’ Privacy-

Related Attitudes and Behav-

iors, headed by Professor

Lorrie Cranor. This project

focused on users knowledge

of facebook privacy rules.

Women in Computing has

been very busy with outreach

to local elementary, middle,

and high school girls. During

the 2010-11 school year,

WiC partnered with the Fair-

port school system and

worked with 5th-9th grade

students, showing them the

opportunities which exist to

them in computing.

Golisano College students

have been volunteering their

time to provide PicoCricket

workshops to these students,

as well as girls from other

schools and girl scout troops.

During these workshops,

Women in Computing stu-

dents show a short power-

point presentation explaining

different computing careers.

Most of the time is spent

hands-on working with Pico-

Crickets kits. During this

time, Women in Computing

students work with the girls

building the hardware and

also constructing the pro-

grams for projects such as

light timers, test your re-

flexes, and making music.

The team reached over 150

girls in small group instruc-

tion to nine groups this year

Please contact wic@rit.edu or

(585)475-7155 if you are

interested in learning more

about volunteering for WiC

outreach activities or if you

know of a group which you

think would benefit from the

outreach program.

Women in Computing cele-

brated the end of the aca-

demic year with a Mexican

Fiesta. Students enjoyed a

Mexican buffet lunch to cele-

brate their volunteering for

outreach programs to school

age girls. Women in Comput-

ing said good-bye to GCCIS

senior women with a WIC

slideshow of the year’s many

events. A year of eleven ca-

reer advancement events,

five social/networking

W O M E N I N C O M P U T I N G O U T R E A C H P R O G R A M S

“WiC has helped in getting to know the

other women here and offered a

female perspective on a career in

computing.”

Monica Hirst, 5th year SE student

Page 5 S U M M E R 2 0 1 1

events, as well as nine out-

reach events were celebrated!

Women in Computing at RIT

always welcomes your ideas

and input. Please contact

wic@rit.edu with suggestions

for future programs.

E N D O F Y E A R B A N Q U E T

Yana Malysheva (CS), Sarah Wagner (IT), Rebekah Fenn (CS), Dan-

nea Dixon (SE), Sandra Murphy (WIC prog coord), Rebecca Vessal

(IGM), Noel Dasta (ISF), Katie Grenier (HCI)

Women in Computing again

sponsored women from the

Golisano College of Comput-

ing and Information Sciences

to attend the Women’s Ca-

reer Achievement Dinner on

May 2, 2011. This dinner,

presented by the Center for

Women and Gender, the RIT

Leadership Institute, and the

Office of Alumni Relations,

honored women from RIT as

well as alumni for their contri-

butions to their professions.

Paula Yandow-Reilly, a 2003

graduate, was the GCCIS

honored guest. The dinner

began with a presentation by

the RIT Dance Team, Velocity

at which even Richie, the RIT

tiger participated! After a

welcome and introductions,

Margaret Lowman, Ph.D., and

Director of the Nature Re-

search Center at the North

Carolina Museum of Natural

Sciences, and a professor at

North Carolina University

presented the keynote ad-

dress. Margaret spoke about

being able to balance her

family while advancing her

career. The photos of her

climbing and hovering in the

trees, sometimes with her

small children, showed how

her attitude towards her non-

conventional career helped

her to make it to where she is

today. The evening closed

with awards to our students

who completed the require-

ments for the RIT Women’s

Career Leadership Award. If

you as a student or alumnae

are interested in attending

this dinner next year, please

contact wic@rit.edu.

W O M E N ’ S C A R E E R A C H I E V E M E N T D I N N E R

W O M E N I N C O M P U T I N G T H A N K S O U R S P O N S O R S

Page 6 W O M E N I N C O M P U T I N G A T R I T

What if you saw the world from the top

of a 16 story tree?

“It‟s like climbing to outer space. There are millions of

undiscovered creatures in every nook and cranny. Some

are two feet long, some smaller than a raindrop. At 165

feet up, I‟m the first to see rain on the horizon. There are

1,000 shades of green, and I usually can‟t see the forest

floor. Sometimes I stay overnight, and it‟s too much fun

to sleep. The tree‟s strong architecture is very protecting.

The swaying lulls me like I‟m a baby. At night the insects

chew and chirp—it‟s a symphony by Mother Nature, Times

Square in the forest.” — Tropical rainforest canopy biolo-

gist and conservationist Margaret D. Lowman, PhD, who

began taking her two children up with her into the tree-

tops when they were 4 and 6 years old —from “The Oprah

Magazine”, May 11, 2010

Four GCCIS women attended

the national Grace Hopper

Conference in Atlanta, GA

this year. Women in Comput-

ing, with support from the

college departments, was

able to send three students

to this event which is at-

tended by over 2000 people!

Charlene Hannah (IT), Jenna

Dulak (NSSA), and Dorrene

Brown (SE) attended the con-

ference this year. Women in

Computing is also very proud

to announce that Dannea

Dixon (IT) won a scholarship

from the conference commit-

tee to attend. These four

women participated in semi-

nars, talks, social events, and

a career fair with corporate

sponsors. Many had opportu-

nities to interview for co-op

and full time work positions!

Students are able to network

and make contacts with in-

dustry professionals as well

as representatives from

Women in Computing office.

The closet is also currently

accepting donations of busi-

ness suits and blouses. To

donate professional clothing

you may contact wic@rit.edu.

Women in Computing at RIT

is continually expanding its

career closet. The Career

Closet includes many suits

and professional wear cloth-

ing for women looking to

interview or go to profes-

sional events. Students may

borrow items from the Career

Closet for free by contacting

Sandra Murphy in the

G R A C E H O P P E R C O N F E R E N C E 2 0 1 0

W O M E N I N C O M P U T I N G C A R E E R C L O S E T

W O M E N I N C O M P U T I N G E V E N T S S U M M A R Y

Professional Advancement:

Affinity Reception

Grace Hopper Confer-

ence

Dress for Success

Interview Panel

NYCWiC Conference

Resume Workshop

Etiquette Lunch

Projecting Confidence

Women’s Career

Achievement Dinner

Dean’s Lecture Series

with Dr. Jeanette Wing

Outreach Opportunities:

Imagine RIT

Two Fairport 5th grade

G&T classes

Two Fairport 8th grade

single gender classes

Fairport 9th grade DDP

class

Cyberettes Club

Experience RIT for Mercy

HS students

Victor Girl Scouts

Honeoye Falls Girl Scouts

Women in Computing pro-

vides many services and

events to our GCCIS women.

Among these were profes-

sional advancement pro-

grams, networking opportuni-

ties, and outreach events.

Networking:

Kickoff Luncheon

Techie Tree Decorating

Contest

Grace Hopper birthday

celebration

PicoCricket outreach

training sessions

“The most

damaging

phrase in the

English

language is

„We‟ve always

done it this way‟

- Grace Hopper

Page 7 S U M M E R 2 0 1 1

universities showcasing their

graduate and doctoral pro-

grams. Key note speakers at

the conference included Duy-

Loan Le, a Senior Fellow at

Texas Instruments, and Bar-

bara Liskov, Turing Award

recipient and MIT researcher.

They spoke on the different

boundaries one must cross in

order to be successful in her

life, including personal, aca-

demic, and career based

boundaries.

20 Lomb Memorial Drive

attn: Sandra Murphy

GOL (bdg 70) room 1005

Rochester, NY 14623

Phone: 585-475-7155

E-mail: wic@rit.edu

facebook: Women in Computing at RIT

website: www.women.rit.edu

Women in

Computing at RIT

is dedicated to

promoting the

success and

advancement of

women in their

academic and

professional

careers.

W O M E N I N C O M P U T I N G A T R I T

Visit us on the web!

www.women.rit.edu

Summer 2011