How she’s helping change the face of technology

I achieved my long-time dream of moving to NYC this September. In a given week, you can catch me at concerts, speakeasies, and halal food carts. I want to explore as many neighborhoods of NYC as I possibly can, and get involved in NYC transit activism. I document everything with my 1-second-per-day video project which has been going on since January 1, 2020!

• The challenges she’s ready to take on and the advice she has for you
  
  I learned about imposter syndrome early on in my tech journey (shout-out to Women in Computer Science @ Penn for being a formidable force on campus & having open discussions on this topic!) but I didn’t even realize that I was struggling with it. I realized that these feelings can show up in subtle ways. For example, I was quick to tell myself that I “wasn’t that good of an engineer, just average,” even though I was doing well in my classes and professionally. I allowed a former partner to put my career choice and degree down and accepted that as the truth. I didn’t give myself proper credit, even though I had a lot of support around me. I learned that I am my own best friend and the #1 supporter in my career. I learned to push back against my own feelings of insecurity and stand up for myself. I want to tell other women in computer science to be more mindful of any negativity that they are feeding to themselves because confidence can only come from within. Be more mindful of the negative narratives that you’re telling yourself, and push back against them! Or turn them into action items, such as reaching out to your support system, studying more effectively, or talking to your manager. Also, give yourself the credit you deserve for your success. Never give someone else a reason to put yourself down for your honest work and success!
• What the RTC community means to her
  
  I joined RTC at a time when I was really unsure about if computer science was right for me. I enjoyed my classes and my computer science TA job, but I was scared of the road ahead. I wondered if I would be able to handle it. I joined RTC because I wanted to talk to other women who could give me some advice for my situation. Soon enough, I went from wondering if I was good enough at computer science to achieve more than I ever thought was possible. The women in RTC encouraged me to act on my growing passion for computer science and empowered me to reach higher. For example, because of RTC, I felt more empowered to take difficult computer science classes at school, apply for more roles, and to take more risks on the job.