From L to R: Jamie Adler, Executive Director NCWIT, Christina Bear, winner of 2016 National Award NCWIT, and Ruthe Farmer, Chief Strategy & Growth Officer and Director, K-12 Alliance of NCWIT. (PC R. Shenoi)
Congratulations to Christina Bear, a senior at Colorado Academy in Denver, Colorado, who was selected as a winner for the National Center for Women and Information Technology (NCWIT) National Award for Aspirations in Computing! Christina traveled to Charlotte, North Carolina, on an all-expense paid trip to attend the Bank of America Technology Showcase and Awards Ceremony at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel held on March 4-6, 2016. She received a $500 stipend, a laptop provided by Bank of America and an engraved award for Christina and her high school. For more information, please see www.aspirations.org
The NCWIT Award for Aspirations in Computing is “an initiative designed to increase women’s meaningful participation in computing careers by providing encouragement, visibility, community, leadership opportunities, scholarships, and internships to high potential technically inclined young women”. Only 35 National Award winners were selected out of 3135 applicants nationally.
NCWIT builds a talent pool for the growing technical workforce and helps academic and corporate organizations celebrate diversity in computing by honoring young women at the high-school level for their computing-related achievements and interests. Award recipients are selected based on their aptitude and aspirations in technology and computing; leadership ability; academic history; and plans for post-secondary education.
Christina is grateful to her AP Computer Science teacher at Colorado Academy, Ms. Kimberly Jans, for providing excellent teaching and support for going above and beyond academics. Ms. Jans is the recipient of the 2016 NCWIT Aspirations in Computing Educator Award in Colorado.
Christina is grateful to Girl Scouts of Colorado, her mentor Ms. Rae Ann Dougherty, the Association of Professional Fundraisers, and her parents for their support and encouragement in founding Project STEM Student Mentors. Christina is thankful to Mr. Jessie Skipwith, Executive Director of Horizons at Colorado Academy, for believing and sustaining a long-term vision to provide enrichment in technology and coding to minority students.
Christina has been selected as a 2016 Colorado Affiliate winner of the NCWIT Award for Aspirations in Computing. The Colorado Affiliate Aspirations Award ceremony will be held at the University of Colorado at Boulder on Sunday, April 24, 2016.