"I originally come from India and I first became interested in coding when I watched The Matix. Since then, there are times when I am the only female coder in the room. I respond to that by working as best as I can to show that women can do just as well as their male counterparts in the tech world. My advice is to be the best version of yourself and don't stop until you have achieved your dreams.” (Afreen Aliya; Software Developer Intern and Computer Engineering Student)
Caroline Zhang, U1 Computer Science and Art History
"I realize in fact how lucky I was to have a female computer scientist in my life. My mom showed me that even though the field is largely male-dominated, there is a place for women. Unfortunately, many girls don't have this - they don't see this possibility. So I am forever grateful for having my mom. Thanks to her, I saw that not only can women be computer scientists, but they can also kick butt at it.”
Caroline Zhang; North Andover, Massachusetts; U1 Computer Science and Art History
Abby Spilkevitz, U0 Computer Science and Philosophy
“I did not intend on majoring in CS, but fell in love with programming and decided to double major in computer science and philosophy. I chose to study philosophy along with CS because the mathematical and logical aspect of the field fascinates me. I'm really interested in artificial intelligence, and how machines can mimic the cognitive functions of humans, such as learning and conversation. I think the concept of machines ‘thinking’ is really cool. I'm still new to programming, but so far my biggest accomplishment is finishing my COMP 206 assignment!”
Advice: “Don't give up - if you're new to programming and it seems kind of difficult, don't drop the course out of frustration. Believe in yourself and in your abilities to program and you can do anything you set your mind to.”
Abby Spilkevitz; Plainview, New York; U0 Computer Science and Philosophy
Photographed by: Sonia Ionescu
Snapshots Campaign
The #McWiCSSnapshots campaign publicizes the awesome women in Computer Science of the McGill community, highlighting the diversity of technical women and introducing unique role models for female students.
The campaign profiles women from a variety of experience levels, backgrounds, and pursuits — from freshmen CS majors to seasoned researchers and professors at McGill. Featured women are showcased on the McWiCS website, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
Nominate an awesome woman you know (possibly yourself?) for the campaign by emailing their name, role, and contact info to team@mcwics.com.