Feel Good Tips and Tricks

Hey everyone!

I hope you are all surviving your midterms. The “Feel Good” week we had early this February (along with my own battle with the sudden flood of midterms and labs and assignments) has inspired me to do a little segment here on mental health. Hopefully my experiences and advice I have received will give you some ideas on how to keep a positive mental health and de-stress a bit with the university lifestyle.
 So here are my tips on how to keep feeling good and managing the stress of your hectic life:

1) Think positive!

 For me this is definitely the most important advice I can give myself in regard to maintaining great mental health. It is so easy to get swept up in all the negatives. If you are anything like me, you are constantly thinking about what you have to do when you get home and how you have all these deadlines piling up and you realize one day that the only conversations you have had this week were competitions with your friends about who is the busiest. And once you’re in this dark hole, it can be hard to get out. But try to focus on the little things, like how pretty icicles are when the sun shines through them, or the fact that your prof wears colourful patterned socks every day. If you can’t think of any, try looking at Neil Pasricha’s blog of 100 awesome things to get the mental ball rolling. Try to frame your thoughts in a positive light and remember that all of your hard work here at Carleton is getting you an amazing education that you will one day use to change the world!

2) Do something you enjoy doing.

For me, it’s ballet. I definitely feel better after every ballet class. Pick something that you really enjoy doing, no matter what it is (even if it is weird, like yodeling). Do something that makes you feel absolutely alive every time you do it. And I know, you’re busy, but try to take an hour or two a week. You will be doing what you love and helping your mental health at the same time! Hint: if you find a club or society that does what you love, you can be doing something you enjoy for you and your mental health AND beefing up your co-curricular record or meeting your semesterly quota for school involvement.

 3) Get moving!

We all know we need to exercise and that exercise helps us maintain our physical health. But there has been a tone of research done recently that shows that physical activity is crucial for good mental health as well! Exercise helps relieve your body of all the stress hormones it’s been building up. And who doesn’t want the totally amazing endorphin high you get after a good workout? (It’s like drugs but legal! And free!) If you didn’t get a change to go to our CUWISE Commit to Me super fun fitness classes, you can ask our very own Alicia Gal for some cool exercises you can do at home any time. On top of keeping you fit, regular exercise helps you sleep better, focus more, and gives you an outlet for all of your stress and energy.

 4) Stay social

 Being around others always helps me feel better after a long night of studying. And spending time with my best friend or my boyfriend gives me a chance to have a laugh, unwind, and forget about school for a little bit. You could be surprised at how much good a monthly girls’ night out can do. What fun is university if you don’t go to the occasional party and dance it up?

 5) Go outside

I know its winter. And some days its so cold I lose feeling in my face within two minutes of being outside, but leaving the tunnels for a few hours at a time could be really great for you. Tip: study somewhere with lots of windows and LOTS of sun. It is finally starting to get sunny again, so grab your books and head over to somewhere on campus with a great view of the river (like the Timmies in River. Haha). It has been shown that spending even a couple of minutes in nature increases people’s positivity and decreased their stress levels. So go take a minute out of your day and look at trees. It’s also really cool to see how the water flows through the half-frozen –over river next to campus.

 I know some of these points have been obvious, but it is always good to remind ourselves of what we can do to keep ourselves happy, healthy, and stress-free.

 Hint: to get the most mental wellness bang for your buck (and by buck I mean time), combine a few of the tips above into one great activity! For example, I use ballet to work my body, and do something for myself that I love doing. Or you can do yoga and meditation to get moving and to bring yourself to a more positive mental state. Whatever it is that you do, remember that it is just important to maintain our mental health as it is to keep ourselves in good physical health. ANY effort towards a less stressed you is great.

And don’t forget to HAVE FUN!

-Sarah

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Sarah is a second year student in Carleton's Neuroscience program. When she's not cramming all of science into her brain she likes to watch cartoons and YouTube videos of people playing weird video games.

The Path of Science and Engineering!

When I was a kid, I was in Girl Guides. One unforgettable thing I learned at Girl Guide camp when I was ten was a lesson from my leader about why we stay on the path during a hike. She told us that it only takes ten people to walk on a patch of the forest before the foliage there starts to thin out. Now, my leader meant this in a forest-conservation kind of way; but a recent experience  made me think of this lesson in a whole new light...

During my reading week this fall, I volunteered with the Carleton Chapter of Engineers Without Borders (EWB) at a career convention for eighth graders in the city. The convention was meant to give these students an opportunity to learn about different career paths and meet professionals in these fields. At this convention, I was manning (ironic word choice, I know) an info table on EWB with another girl from our Carleton Chapter. Our table happened to be located next to one on masonry, which had an interactive area where students could try their hand at building part of a wall with some bricks and mortar. The girl I was with is an engineering student, but she always loved the trades and working with her hands. She enthusiastically went over to the next table and joined the brick-laying lesson. What happened next made me smile! The masonry booth had been occupied mostly by groups of boys all day. But, as my fellow EWBer scraped around mortar and laid bricks, a few eighth grade girls came over and joined her, and then a few more. These girls seemed much less timid and self-conscious, and more engaged in the lesson than any of the previous solitary girls who had tried the booth earlier that day. All it took was one other girl there, one other person like them to make the girls realize that they could do masonry too, that working with your hands isn't just for boys!

I know masonry isn't STEM, but the trades are male-dominated fields, just like Science and Engineering. And here is where the forest lesson comes in: Each one of you, a woman in Science and Engineering, can play the same role for young women interested in STEM as my EWBer friend! You would be taking a step off the path into the forest and treading into the foliage! With every woman who does what she loves and pursues a career in STEM, the foliage thins out just a little bit more. With time, the new path becomes easier to find and follow for the next girl. You are one more female face in an engineering class that stops the next girl from thinking "I'm not a boy. I don't belong here". You are the successful older student or prominent figure in your field that reminds those girls in the initial struggles of Science and Engineering that "I can do this!"

     

 In my Psychology class last year, I learned about how stereotype threat (the fear that if you fail, other people will say you failed because you are part of some minority or social group) can actually make people perform worse and fail more often. It has been said for years that women are not as smart as men and worse at math. This is not true, of course, but it can still trigger stereotype threat in girls and women in STEM; they worry that their failure will be attributed to them being a "dumb girl". Yet, every example they have that contradicts the stereotype, makes the stereotype threat diminish more and more. Every one of you is making that girl less and less afraid of being herself, and less scared of failing.

That's part of the reason I love Science! It lets me be a role model and encourage tones of young girls to pursue their love for STEM. And this is simply achieved by doing what I love and find SO interesting.

So stay inspiring ladies and keep treading that widening path through the forest!!!

-Sarah

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Sarah is in her second year of Neuroscience combined honors at Carleton. She loves introducing young minds to the mind-blowing amazingness of science and encouraging girls and women to be whatever they want to be.

The power of Thoughts: You can do anything you set set your mind to!

I recently attended a lecture on the power of thoughts and I was literally floored [Feels awesome when you have tons of projects]! It’s a subject near and dear to me because it can be life changing. Now, you may already know that you should care about your self-talk. Let me tell you why it’s important, especially for women in science and engineering.

Few weeks ago, Sheryl Sandberg shared at the CBS This Morning show that "The data says that stereotypes hold us [women] back. The reason girls don't think they're good in math and science is because everyone tells them they're not good at science. Studies show that if right before a math test you tell girls, 'Girls are good at math' or 'Girls do well on the test,' they do better." Of course, people are not always available to tell you how awesome you are and how great you are going to do! That’s why you need to help yourself [and those around you]: Tap your back and convince your wonderful mind that you can do it [exams, projects, whatever awesome dream you have]! You will be amazed at the results.

Back on my lecture about “The Power Thoughts”, the professor - a well-known engineer - showed us how thoughts are converted to chemical, physiological actions and reactions. The next experiment perfectly proved how thoughts can induce a chemical reaction:

•  Think about a lemon - a sour candy - a green lime
•  Imagine cutting a wedge of lemon or lime
•  Imagine smelling the lemon or lime
•  Take the wedge of the lemon and put it in your mouth.
•  Chew the wedge of the lemon - the very sour juice of the lemon now comes into your mouth and stimulates your taste buds
•  Concentrate - close your eyes and don’t block your thoughts - make it a reality for yourself.
• You will notice that your mouth became more watery. Salivary glands have responded to the sour taste of the lemon/lime thoughts. QED!

Don’t let that impostor syndrome fool you! Shut “anti-self” thoughts and shine bright. Success begins in your mind! So, next time negative thoughts creep in your mind, remind yourself (yes, you!) that you are awesome, smart and ready to rock the world!

Stay great!
Daniella


P.S.: Just because I love quotes, here is a related to today’s topic:

For more:

Check out this blog about the power of choosing your thoughts: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lisa-firestone/choosing-your-thoughts_b_3461686.html

Also watch the following TED talk to find out how your power posing can boost your confidence. It might help you if you feel nervous every time you have a presentation or an interview ;-) http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_cuddy_your_body_language_shapes_who_you_are.html

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Daniella is a Master's student in Electrical and Computer Engineering. One of her dreams is to inspire more women to embrace STEM careers and unleash their full potential. Although she is hardworking and can be very serious, she enjoys comedy and dancing, has a big sense of humour, and believes that a little kindness goes a long way!

Seeking Nominations for the 2013 Women of Vision Awards

I serve on the Advisory Board of the Anita Borg Institute, an organization focused on increasing women's participation in the technology workforce --- as technologists, and as technical leaders. One important aspect of our work is recognizing the contributions of amazing women technical leaders all over the world. We do this through the Women of Vision program.

We are now accepting nominations for the 2013 Women of Vision awards.

We could greatly use your help identifying women who deserve recognition, and facilitating their nomination. These women are incredible achievers whose stories inspire us, and whose example can be held up as a role model for thousands of other technical women. A bit of background:

These awards recognize outstanding women for Leadership, Social Impact, and Innovation. See the full descriptions of these award categories online.

Last year we honoured these amazing women:

• Sarita Adve, Professor of Computer Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, for Innovation.
• Sarah Revi Sterling, Faculty Director, ATLAS Institute at the University of Colorado at Boulder, for Social Impact.
• Jennifer Chayes, Distinguished Scientist and Managing Director, Microsoft Research New England, for Leadership.

You can also see the complete list of past winners online.

Please think about a woman at your organization or school (or anywhere, really) who deserves to be honoured for her career achievements, and nominate her! Please contact me if there is any way I can help you with this action.

The deadline to submit a nomination is December 14, 2012.

Also be sure to save the date for the 8th annual Women of Vision Awards Banquet on May 9, 2013 in Santa Clara, California. Registration passes and table sponsorships will be available for purchase soon.

Originally posted on my personal blog.

Kudos to past WISE exec and officer for defending their PhD theses!

I just wanted to recognize the awesomeness of one of the original four founding members of CU-WISE and past Executive Natalia Villanueva-Rosales, and past CU-WISE Officer Terri Oda, both of whom successfully passed their PhD thesis defences in the last few weeks.  Both of their committees were rather impressed with them.  Congrats ladies!!

I don't think we celebrate our own accomplishments enough, so I'm always trying to encourage others to do so here on the blog.  If you're a member of the CU-WISE community and have something to share about yourself or another awesome woman in science or engineering here at Carleton, you can always contact CU-WISE (wise@carleton.ca) and have us post it!

14 Year Old Airplane Builder

I came across this video and wanted to share it with you. It's about Sabrina Gonzalez Pasterski who is very passionate about planes. She took her first flying lessons at the tender age of 9. By the age of 14 she build her first aircraft and flew it at the age of 16.

Her advice is to never let an opportunity to pass you by.

What I love about being a software developer

A developer I met on twitter told me to check out this article a while ago on the benefits of being a female software engineer. I enjoyed it, but had a few varying opinions so I thought I’d first give my personal list of the things I love about being a developer, and then also some positives about being a woman in the field.

Things I Love About Being a Developer

Feeling like I have the power to build anything

We’re so bombarded with new technology all the time that I think we sometimes take for granted the magic of it. As a programmer, almost ironically, I feel like I get to live in constant awe of this magic. I’ve always been a creative person. I started writing songs and poetry in grade 2 and still do, got pretty good at drawing in middle/HS, and even thought for a while that I might try taking up woodworking in post secondary. The spirit of creation is the midnight oil that keeps programmers glued to their monitors into the wee hours. Having the ability to create programs you can use as tools just blows my mind. If you think it looks boring sitting behind a computer, just remember that’s exactly where you’d be if you were editing that music video in Final Cut Pro, or writing your famous blog that’ll be made into a TV series, or putting together parts for a song with GarageBand, but you wouldn’t be able to do any of those things on that computer without programmers! MAGIC!! :O

Seeing my creations work/do something I wanted to accomplish

Building a program is fun, but using it after or seeing people use and appreciate it is even more rewarding. If you’ve created a piece of software that works well and looks nice, just seeing the fruits of your labor on your own screen is enough to make you do a happy dance, if that is you’re nerdy/cool enough to do something like that *brushes shoulder off*

Making an algorithm that’s just that much better than the other guy’s

Now if you’re not competitive you can still enjoy programing for a lot of other reasons, and just because you don’t have the fastest most elegant solution for something does not mean you won’t be a successful programmer (not at all!), but for myself, I can get competitive sometimes . Especially when it comes to challenging projects or assignments. I’m not proud of this one but I know I’m not the only one who enjoys this. When the guys are talking about their solutions for an assignment like “Oh yeah I used a priority queue, and my algorithm does this. Runs faster than most of the other programs apparently. What’d you use?” I love when I can respond with something like. “Oh yeah that’s cool. I used one too but my recursive function cuts off early and uses a shortcut if the player isn’t being blocked, to score faster, which happens most of the time if it’s running against random players, so it ended up working in like half the time after I did that ” If you’re a good sport a little friendly competition can be fun I don’t want to make programing look harder than it is right now though, so for anyone reading this who isn’t sure if they’d be good at programing just try it and if you don’t like a language try another one. Some of the terminology used to describe it can make it look difficult but, it’s way easier than it seems, and not everyone who is good at programing likes the more challenging problems, but they’re still every bit as good of a programmer, and they end up being every bit as successful. So many opportunities are there for you if you have this special skill so I want to encourage everyone to try it. Especially more GIRLS! Still, if you’re bright and enjoy a challenge there are career paths you can take and courses you can take that can give you a lot of that Feeling kick-ass for solving a difficult problem is just a job perk worth mentioning. If you enjoy solving puzzle games and things like that, or you enjoy math or physics, you might want to check out programing, you’ll probably fall in love with it.

Salary

Computer science students, make on average anywhere from 16 to 18 bucks an hour for their first summer jobs during school, and then it can get up to 23 an hour by the time you graduate. Now this varies greatly depending on a lot of things and these are only my estimates based on what I’ve gathered from friends and acquaintances, so if you’re a student reading this, and it’s not your story, don’t worry! Even if you graduate with no work experience you still have a very marketable skill, and probably a great career ahead of you. I just had my first computer science job at the start of this school year (4th year) and now continuing into the summer my salary has gone up. I started late, I never really went after an IT job until last summer when I was coming out of third year, and I started late for the summer so I ended up giving up and waitressing, but I’m making more now than I was waitressing, I have a steady job 5 days a week, and I pinch myself because although I did enjoy my service job, getting paid more than I was hustling tables to do what I love already in my first job is a dream come true. If you give up on finding a summer job, just don’t give up on the career. It can feel daunting if people around you have jobs in the field and you’re late for the party(how I felt with my guy friends who almost all had IT jobs since 1st or 2nd year), but even working for free for a startup can be one of the most enriching experiences, and can be worth much more to you in the end than getting paid anything if you want to even try that. It’s not all about the money, but the money is there to be made. Again LADIES! There need to more ladies in my field getting in on this!

Being an expert/ respect

I have limited experience in the field, but from what I can tell there is a lot of respect in the work force amongst developers for each-other, especially if they all bring something different to the table, it’s all “Oh well you’re the expert on the databases”, or “Well I don’t know as much about that area of the product but this is what I think, what do you think?” and “Let me know how you feel about my ideas! ” or “Let me know if you have suggestions for how else we can go about this! ” Everyone values each-others input and there’s a real feeling of comradeship, teamwork, and respect. It’s great to feel like you really have something to contribute if you have special knowledge, and it’s great to be respected for what you can bring to a project at work, or for an expertise, which you’ll almost certainly end up developing over time in development, especially if there’s a certain language or type of project that really gets you passionate at the start.

Can always grow/ go new places/ go anywhere

There are so many options in a developer’s career. As an indecisive person it can make my head spin sometimes when I try to think exactly what direction I want my career to take, but as someone with a lot of interests it also makes me glad to know I can always explore new dimensions of the industry. From government jobs, to startups, to contract work, to open source, to future managerial possibilities, to starting your own business, or going to grad school. There are just a whole world of possibilities for career options in computer science/ computer engineering, and you can always learn more if you’re ever bored with where you are. There’s always more to learn and new exciting technology to explore

Entrepreneurial spirit of the industry

Since my second year at Carleton when I was exposed to a few startup companies in Ottawa I’ve thought that starting my own company was something I wanted to do eventually. I’ve seen other Carleton graduates succeed at it and after working on a 48 hour coding competition to make a game for Windows phone 7 (the Great Canadian Appathon), I know that when I’m working with friends on something we designed and came together to create, I can work tirelessly for days and it doesn’t ever feel like work. I know I’m not alone in catching the startup bug either. It’s something that comes from being a part of an industry where the product is completely digital (so no building materials or shipping or packaging costs to worry about), the industry can change so quickly that being a small and agile company has major advantages, you can be personally involved in all aspects of the creation of your product from start to finish (entrepreneurs like to have control), and the impact your service could have on society seems only limited by your imagination. I say seems because a lot of developers feel like once they build an amazing product people will just come use it, and aren’t used to the marketing/customer service side of the industry. As someone who has always been fascinated with human behavior and motivation, with a minor in psychology, who’s a big people person, I’m also passionate about how people are going to use and react to software so I love all sides of the process of getting an idea from someone’s head, on to people’s computers, and into their lives.

Things I Love About/ Advantages of Being A Woman in The Industry

You are well liked because you bring an energy that’s missing

Before I came to University to study computer science in a program with a girl guy ratio of 1 to 9 (not even: women make up 7% of my program a percentage that’s gone down since the 80′s when the percentage was closer to around 45%) I was in an arts HS with a girl guy ratio of 7 to 1, and I notice now that the guys in our school were very well liked, whereas in computer science the girls are more well liked, and I’m not just talking about crushes here, there’s just an energy that’s missing when a population is heavily dominated by one sex, the dynamic is out of balance, and people are drawn to the energy that’s missing. In HS I couldn’t wait to get to university because I wanted to have tons of guy friends, I wanted buddies to joke around with, I’d had enough of talking with girlfriends about feelings, of shopping and sleepovers, after a couple of years of comp sci, I got sick of having so many guy friends (not that I got sick of the friends I had ) and started trying to make more girlfriends outside my program to balance my life. That’s just how it is. Whether by nature or nurture, male and female friendships have a different quality to them and we need both in our life. I’m very grateful for all the wonderful friendships I’ve made in my program and in my industry

Men compete more agressively with other men they work with

If you’re a woman this means less butting heads or trying to show each-other up on teams who’s members should be co-operating, and smooth sailing in general. Generally once people get older I think they’re more mature and secure so everyone is more supportive and less competitive with each-other in general, but they’ll still compete more with each-other which makes co-operation easier for women in the field. This isn’t because they don’t think you can hold your own. They’re not going easy on you. It’s evolutionary for men and women to compete more with members of the same sex.

I love that I have an unexpected occupation

I get some surprised looks when I tell people I’m a software developer and I know what you’re saying, “Lana maybe they’d be surprised if you were a guy too!”, and yes maybe they would have, it doesn’t always have to do with gender, but it may have something to do with it considering the very low number of women in the industry. When someone says “Wow!…wow good for you!” I’d never be upset by it. They didn’t expect me to be a programmer because people use mental heuristics to try and guess my profession, mental shortcuts, which usually work well. I’m a woman and so chances are you’d be better off not guessing that I’m a programmer if you want to have the best chances of winning the guessing game, but to see someone ask me if I work at the mall, while I put my makeup on on the buss and then get to see their face as they question their assumption, is just a lot of fun for me, especially as a feminist. Never make assumptions about people Not even yourself

Compliments/ not hard to find a date

A guy friend of mine, in computer science, gave me this one: “Computer Science: the odds are good but the goods are odd” While this is pretty funny, to be blunt, you’d find just as odd goods in any of the other more gender balanced sciences, like chemistry or bio, but in comp sci you don’t have other women to compete with. Seriously though the guys in my program are some of my favorite people in the world, there are a lot more cool down to earth computer nerds out there than you’d think, and if you’re intimidated by the gender ratio, just remember, a lot of them are more afraid of you than you are of them, so extend an olive branch to one or two and you’ll have at worst a guy who stalks you but also makes you feel good about that freshman 15 you put on, or a douche who you quickly get over because all the guys around you are asking you why you’re dating his douche ass, or at best a lifelong friend, or a lifelong partner, maybe even a business partner if you’ve caught the startup bug. Either way most of the guys in my program are wonderful intelligent fun and creative people, so this is just a bonus worth mentioning.

Being able to act like a total dork and get praised for it

I’ve always been nerd at heart. You wouldn’t know it if you passed me on the street or saw me out with my girls but if you could see how I am on the inside I’d probably look like a skinny teenage boy with braces and really thick glasses, and it shows when I’m with my guy friends in computer science. I’m a music nerd, I’m a comic book nerd, I’m a psychology nerd, I’m a Youtube nerd, I’m a video-game nerd, I’m a book nerd, and a very proud computer science nerd, and I let out quite a snort sometimes when I laugh, and I snort a lot around the guys in my program. I feel like we’re all one big nerdy family. I love it! I've never laughed harder or spoke more freely, candidly, or passionately with any other group of people. These guys are my soul-mates :P Why is this under the advantages of being a woman in computer science? Why not stick it with things I love in general? Because I think it’s really good for me, as a woman, to be around guys who couldn't care less if I was wearing any makeup, around guys who wouldn't notice the difference if you died your hair red, blonde, lost 20 pounds, or gained 20, guys who don’t care about social graces or which other crowd you’re friends with, around guys who make you feel like you can be yourself, even if that means you feel like swearing like a sailor, not doing your hair that day, and snorting really REALLY loud when you laugh just cuz you feel like acting a little crazy, because I think us girls need to learn to love ourselves more unconditionally, and worry less about our image/appearance and more about what we can do with our lives, and what we can experience. These guys want to hear if I’m working on a software project or learning to play ukulele, because that’s cool and fun, they don’t care if I buy new clothes or get new makeup, or start wearing my hair differently, they’ll just compliment you whether you have makeup on or not. They’re chicken soup for the female soul. :)

My ambitions are not just for myself. I want to succeed for other women/girls

I think I’m naturally a very ambitious person, not in a power hungry or status hungry sort of way, just in that everything I’ve wanted to do in my life I’ve wanted to be the best at it, I’ve wanted to do something great with it, even if no one but my family is going to see it, I want it to have an impact. I want whatever I do to create something awesome that makes a difference and moves people. I also have a deeply rooted sense of fairness and justice and if I see something that runs up against that, it upsets me a great deal. I won’t ever become upset to the point where I let it invade my life in a negative way, and I’m a very balanced and grounded person, but as Martin Luther King said “True peace is not merely the absence of tension, it is the presence of justice.” I think that there are a lot of leftover outdated attitudes in our society from the women’s movement and before it, that go unnoticed and effect women and men for the worse. When men and women are offered a salary, men will reject it and ask for more 8 times more often than women. In fields like nursing that are dominated by women people are underpaid, and men avoid them, in fields like computer science and engineering we’re paid more and women avoid them, and I know that these things won’t just naturally balance out without effort, because when you act unconsciously in life as an individual, imbalances don’t just go away, they’re self perpetuating, and it’s the same thing with society as a whole.

Salary is a big deal. How much we think we can/should make is about how much we think we’re worth to the world, and it’s a sensitive topic, which is why people don’t like to talk about it, but I’m someone who craves real conversations with strangers, I want to talk about things like this because it matters so much, which is why I’m writing so much in this post .

If you’re a woman and you make a conscious effort to keep yourself aware that the guy next to you is asking for a higher salary 8 times as often, and that you’re worth just as much, and you make a conscious effort to do the same thing, which is not easy at all for most women, then the difference in money you’ll have made over your lifetime by the time you retire is in the millions, but even better than that if you can think about the difference it would make if you end up being the first woman to start a tech company that makes such a significant impact on the industry that your face is on the cover of Time and all the IT and business magazines and that gives little girls something to stick on their walls instead of the fashion models on all the covers of all the magazines they’re used to seeing women on, that’s not just an ambitious goal that’s revolutionary, that’s an Obama moment just waiting to happen that some woman is going to get to have. Don’t you want to be the woman to make that moment possible? You can be. If you pursue a career in computer science or engineering haha obvious plug right there, but that’s why I’m so passionate about my industry, all the opportunity and all the frontiers out there just waiting for whoever is brave enough to take them.

Hope that you enjoyed the reasons I love software development, and I also hope that you’re a young girl and this got you to thinking about where you want your post secondary education to take you, and maybe that you’ll pick computer science or engineering as a career :)

If I’ve left an advantage out or if you disagree with anything I’ve said let me know I always love a good discussion about these things

Shalom!

Super mario bros accapella

There are a lot of covers are the mario bros theme, but this one Jimmy Wong's version is especially cute and singable because it goes beyond the source to make something really fun:



And as if the song itself weren't amazing, the artist himself is a pretty neat guy. Check out the NPR story on him: Jimmy Wong Saves The Internet:

Jimmy Wong reminded me that the tools that can be deployed by the so-called cyberbullies are also freely available to those they harass.

[...]

The lyrics are funny and good-spirited, and effectively turn the tables on the original rant. And the song itself has a catchy hook, has been viewed about 800,000 times, and is now for sale on iTunes.

When I was a kid, here's one thing I never thought of saying to a bully who was about to pummel me:

"Hey, don't mess with me. I've got a quirky sense of humor, a great singing voice, and I know how to code!"

But Jimmy Wong and many others are proving those types of creative skills could be a decent way to put up a defense.

Jimmy's Mario song is available on iTunes along with a bunch of his other music, and proceeds are currently going to the Japanese relief efforts.

The Celebration of Women in Science and Engineering is Just Around the Corner!

Last year's Celebration was pretty awesome, but this year is going to be something special.  You see, we've made a big effort to ensure our talks are fun and exciting no matter what your background is.

So, for example, if you're in biology, you'll understand what the computer scientists and engineers are talking about.  Even if you aren't in science or engineering at all, you will enjoy what we have to offer!

Even better, we've invited a group of high school girls to be in our audience this year.  We've already got more than 25 signed up.  We're hoping that we can ignite a love of science and engineering in these students, and show them the awesome choice that Carleton is for post-secondary education.

The full schedule with talk titles and descriptions is now posted online, so go check it out and we'll see you on April 6!

What's it All About?

The link above describes it like this:

The Carleton Celebration of Women in Science and Engineering is a showcase of graduate students, faculty, and alumni of Carleton University. The number of women who enrol in many science and engineering programs is quite low, so the amazing things they do can easily go unnoticed. This day puts them in the spotlight.

The goal of this event is two-fold. First, we aim to provide networking opportunities for all female science and engineering students. Second, we would like to see members of the greater Carleton community and the general public attend these talks and learn about some of the great things happening in science and engineering. We want the world to know that there really are successful women in these fields!

This year's Celebration will showcase research and projects done by female students and faculty from Carleton in a way that is accessible to the general public, including high school students.

Everyone is invited!

Can you accomplish more with a female instructor?

IBM Extreme Blue Case Study Competition-4264
by Terriko.

I don't get what the bit about Obama and Desperate Housewives at the start of this article from Slate entitled "Pscyh-out sexism" is trying to say, but the research summarized later sounds interesting. Here's a quote about the first study:

The psychologists asked female students studying biology, chemistry, and engineering to take a very tough math test. All the students were greeted by a senior math major who wore a T-shirt displaying Einstein's E=mc² equation. For some volunteers, the math major was male. For others, the math major was female. This tiny tweak made a difference: Women attempted more questions on the tough math test when they were greeted by a female math major rather than a male math major. On psychological tests that measured their unconscious attitudes toward math, the female students showed a stronger self-identification with math when the math major who had greeted them was female. When they were greeted by the male math major, women had significantly higher negative attitudes toward math.

In the next study, they found that university-level women asked fewer questions in class and in office hours after a term with a male prof than they did after a term with a female one. And in the final study, they found that women had more confidence with a female teacher... even if tests showed that they were outperforming their male colleagues.

The latter two studies could be for reasons other than the gender of the teacher: previous studies have shown that although fewer women reach the level of prof, those who do tend to be exceptional so it might be their innate talents and not as much their gender that allows them to reach their students better. But still, it's an interesting selection of research, and really speaks to why it's so valuable for the women of WISE to teach others!

So next time you wonder if it's worth coming out to an outreach event, remember that your smiling face may be just what another young woman needs to get her to try that little bit harder!

Top Women in Tech Lists

There has been a sudden increase in "top women in tech" lists lately, which is pretty awesome.  Just wanted to stop by to share some of my recent favourites:

• The Most Influential Women in Technology 2010
• Women in Tech: The Entrepreneurs
• The 15 Most Important Women in Tech History

Now if only the third hit when Googling "top women tech" wasn't "Top 10 hottest women in tech: AskMen.com."  :(

Women need to be at the table

As we start the New Year I would like to share this video with all the young women out there who are embarking on their careers.

It's a well known fact that there are too few women in leadership roles, tech or otherwise. While there are various programs in place to try to solve this problem it just does not seem to go away.

Sheryl Sandberg, COO from Facebook, has some really great insights and advice for women.





She breaks it down to 3 main points and advice for women to have their foot on the gas pedal, so to speak, before they make a decision to stay or leave once they have children.

As an entrepreneur, student, wife and mom I can relate to what she says and there is no right choice, it's up to to the individual.

I encourage you all to watch the video. What do you think about what she says?

National Conference on Women in Engineering

This past month I had the pleasure of attending the National Conference on Women in Engineering as a delegate representing Carleton University. This weekend long conference was hosted by the University of Ottawa and was inspired by the theme of ‘Expanding Horizons’. The aim of the weekend was to celebrate the accomplishments and achievements of women in the male dominated field of engineering, as well as to better understand and be prepared for the challenges that women face in the workforce. The conference was an inspiring way for a young female engineering student to spend the weekend and included keynote speakers, breakout sessions, a banquet, and networking opportunities.

I believe that most of the delegates will agree with me when I say that the highlight of the conference was listening to the experiences of the keynote speakers. Each speaker left a lasting impression through their personal story and words of wisdom. I would like to share some of the key takeaways from the speakers which helped them to become the successful women they are today:

- Recognize opportunities to demonstrate leadership
- Seek out people who think differently than you
- Set a goal – evaluate the tools you will need to attain it
- Be prepared – manage risk, commit, speak with credibility
- Don’t be afraid to change course based on your experiences
- Accept that you cannot control everything
- Be involved in your community

While at the conference, delegates had the opportunity to network with students from other universities from all across Canada (coast to coast!) This was a great way to talk about their respective engineering societies and to share ideas about how to increase the involvement and enrolment of women within engineering.

This conference made me feel very proud to be a woman in engineering. I can say with great certainty that NCWIE brought together future leaders of the engineering community and I am very hopeful for the opportunities which lie ahead for each and every one of these delegates.

Building Self Confidence I - Experiences at CRA-W Grad Cohort 2010

As Gail wrote in her post last month, she, Svetlana and I were fortunate to be able to attend the 2010 CRA-W Grad Cohort held in Seattle. Read her post for a great summary of the sessions that were available to us, ranging from find a research topic to just being a woman in technology.

While I found these sessions excellent, my epiphany was a feeling of greater belonging and confidence in being a woman in the science and technology community. It helped me experience first hand how critical support organizations such as WISE can be.

To tell you the absolute truth, even as a member of CU-WISE, I had been a little skeptical of the need for women-only organizations within science and engineering. Coming from an Engineering background, at some point, I had let myself become used to the fact that there were just few other women in the area.

So imagine what it was like for me to walk into a room full of 200-300 women, who not only shared similar academic and career aspirations but also had to operate as a minority in their respective worlds? For the first time in a long time in my life, gender was the great leveler instead of the great divider, and that really made all the difference! It was a refreshing and exhilarating feeling and the instant camaraderie that I felt with those women in that instant is indescribable.

The next three days were, at their core, a reaffirmation and celebration (there's a reason why they call Grace Hopper a Celebration of Women in Computing) of WISE women, what they have and can achieve. It was a unique confidence building experience because it reminded me that
i) I don't need to fit in - I have much to offer just as I am
ii) We can be each other's best supporters, being there when someone needs that extra confidence booster

This event drove home for me the difference that having female mentors, peers, role models and supporters makes for those in the science and engineering field. It has shown me that, although the female-minority situation that I work and study in is not normal, groups such as CU-WISE can provide the sense of empowerment, belonging and support that can help me achieve better equilibrium.

I came away from the conference having a better appreciation for the gaps that organizations such as CU-WISE fill in their local university communities and hope to do my part to support my fellow WISE women.

If She Can Do It, I Can Too

Looking for a little inspiration as you finish exams and start in on your summer jobs? Leslie Hawthorn had a great guest post over at Geek Feminism about realizing that she had what it takes:

When Chris DiBona asked if I was interested in joining his team to help make Google Summer of Code happen for the second year, I was elated. I knew I had great organizational and project management skills. I knew I got along really well with programmers and loved to talk tech. I knew what the Summer of Code was – an awesome program to give jobs to students by giving them a chance to work on Open Source projects, and a great way for those projects to find new contributors. And I knew what open source software was in a general sense – everyone shares their code with everyone else. Sounded beautiful and idealistic. I was in!

What I didn’t know was, well, everything else.

[Read the rest here]

Don't forget to be awesome: Self confidence tricks for those in geeky fields

I write for the Geek Feminism blog, and for the past little while we've been answering reader questions. My latest post there was on a question that might be of interest to CU-WISE folk:

"How do you keep up your inner reserves of self-confidence?"

The poster suggested that this was particularly difficult as a women in science, engineering and technology, because a lot of what you have to do involves trying things and failing a bunch before you figure it out.

I've put together 5 of the tips I usually give to students. Here's the short version:

1. Remember that you're not alone
2. Cultivate your shield of arrogance
3. Find your cheerleading squad
4. Celebrate your accomplishments
5. Don’t forget to be awesome

To read more about what I mean by these, check out Self Confidence Tricks @ GeekFeminism.org. Here's the first one:

Remember that you're not alone

Lots and lots of very smart people have trouble with self-confidence. In fact, there are so many people who have this problem, that they have a couple of terms regarding the phenomenon:

• Imposter syndrome refers to the fact that many people feel like they're not good enough to be doing what they're doing. They feel like they're impostors who don't belong and eventually someone will notice and kick them out of the field.
  
• Dunning-Kruger effect refers to a very strange cognitive bias: People who are vaguely incompetent will over-rate their abilities, and those who are highly competent will under-rate theirs.
  

So remember that your insecurity may actually be a sign of intellectual maturity: you've learned enough to understand what you don't know. And remember that some of those people who say they're awesome may not be. Especially in first year computer science, where I teach, there's a lot of blow-hard teenaged boys, and I remind people of that regularly.

[Read the rest on GeekFeminism.org.]

Celebration a Success!

Wow. Our Carleton Celebration of Women in Science and Engineering last week was AMAZING. I ended up writing it up on my own blog before I had the chance to write here:

My main goals were to showcase what the Carleton ladies in science and engineering have been up to, and to give us an opportunity for us to network, since WISE spans so many technical and scientific disciplines. I think we succeeded on both counts!

Read the rest here!

Celebration of Women in Science and Engineering is TOMORROW!

I can't believe the Carleton Celebration of Women in Science and Engineering is finally here. Less than 20 hours from now, I'll have arrived on campus to set up and get ready for the welcome note!

I'm really proud of what we've accomplished with this event. In only about a month, we put out a call for proposals, got more amazing abstracts than we could schedule in our original time frame, somehow put together a schedule that worked, booked a wonderful meal for speakers and their guests after the event, and got the word out to the Carleton and Ottawa communities. Just this morning I came back from recording an interview with Terri about the event to be played on CBC tomorrow morning!

If you are anywhere near the Carleton campus, it would be well worth your time to take a few minutes and listen to a few of our speakers. Pick a topic you're interested in and see what cool research is being done. Come to the professional development talks later in the day. Have your say at the round table discussion happening in the evening.

A full schedule of the talks and their abstracts are available on our website.

I sincerely hope to see you there!

Ada Lovelace Day: The Technical Women that Inspire Me

Technical women who have inspired me while doing my Masters here at Carleton University have been CU-WISE execs and officers as well as some of my friends I met along the way. I would have to say Jennie Pryor, Sukaina Chandoo, Saeideh Ashtarifar, and Kimia Ansari have each taught me a valuable lesson during the past couple of years.

I've also learned a tremendous amount from the CU-WISE team especially Gail, Barbora, Heba, Ros, Terri, Lindsay, Katherine, and Salia. These girls have all been an inspiration to me and each has a different gift to offer.

One other technical woman that I admire tremendously is Sawitri Mardyani. I first met Sawitri in our first year Calculus course. She is one of the most intelligent and compassionate people I have ever known; truly technical and an exemplary human being.

I think we all need to strive to be role models for those around us and every one of these girls has been a role model for me. So I thank you!

Ada Lovelace Day: Perspective from a Guy

This guest post was written by Jamie Madill, a Masters student in Carleton's School of Computer Science, to celebrate Ada Lovelace Day. Thanks for taking the time to give your perspective Jamie! :D

I wish there were more women in computer science. It's not that there aren't any, it's just that working in an environment of different ages, backgrounds, tastes and personalities is more fulfilling. That said, I happen to notice that my supervisor's grad students are numbered 3 women and one man, myself. It's quite lucky then, that I work in one of the few such labs, and even more so to be around such smart, hard working and skilled scientists. Oh, and the kicker: they're all Ph.D and I'm the only Masters. Hopefully that would give ol' Ada a smile.