Communities – Texas A&M University ACM-W Chapter: AWICS

By Suzanne J. Matthews, Communications Officer, AWICS

Top row (from left to right): Suzanne Matthews, Shawna Thomas, Shuai Ye, Cindy Yeh, Lydia Tapia, Yinan Fan. Bottom row(from left to right): Sarah Gray, Olga Pearce, Elham Khabiri, Jill Greczek

The Aggie Women in Computer Science(AWICS) is an ACM-W chapter located at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. While the majority of our members are female students and faculty from the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, some of our 50+ members come from related departments, such as Electrical and Computer Engineering.

We host a broad range of activities for our members to enjoy, including study breaks and recreational events such as potlucks, day trips, and excursions to the local Starbucks. Recently, a group of us went to U-PaintIt, a pottery painting studio in College Station. We all picked a pottery piece, a set of paints, and let our imaginations run wild. All the pieces turned out beautifully, and two weeks later, we had a mini “art show” to showcase our work. The outing was a huge success, and we are all looking forward to our next trip.

Top row (from left to right): Yue Wang, Ishita Patnaik, Chiao-Fang Hsu, Saira Viqar, Hu Jia, Fran Allen, Sarah Gray,  Ann Condon, Nancy Amato, Olga Pearce. Bottom row (from left to right): Yinan Fan, Elham Khabiri, Lydia Tapia, Suzanne Matthews, Dhivya Padmanabhan, Shawna Thomas

Deeply committed to the professional development of our members, we also have an active peer-mentoring program, host a Distinguished Lecturer series and an annual Leadership Workshop. Another one of our yearly highlights is our exodus to the Grace Hopper Conference. Last year, 14 AWICS members travelled as a group to attend the Grace Hopper Conference celebrations in Keystone, Colorado. At the conference, we had the opportunity to meet Fran Allen, the first female recipient of the prestigious Turing Award. The conference was a wonderful experience for all of us, especially for members who never attended previous Grace Hopper celebrations.

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