What do you get when you go to a conference?

Life has been so busy that I haven't had time to post about my experience at the Grace Hopper Conference. So, what do you get when you go to a conference?

You get a bag of goodies the moment you walk in the door.

When I walked in the house the first night, the family went through the bag and took what they wanted from it. I had pens, but those were taken first.

For some reason I got three compacts:

I got several shirts and a sweatshirt from Yahoo!, because I was working at the booth.




Every company that was represented gave out items as well, Yahoo! gave nail polish. This was the hottest item at the conference and we nearly ran out. Our shirts were also popular, but those were just for the employees. I was honored to be able to attend this conference and I happily worked at the booth all three days.

The items I received in this bag were really nice to have, but the memories I took back from this conference were the non-tangibles. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about something that was said during a seminar, or think about the wonderful women I spent time with. I took much more from this experience than I will ever be able to show in a picture. A confidence that women belong in the computing industry, and that my girls will have a future no matter where they go.

Now that I have been home for a couple of weeks, I can say that my enthusiasm is just as strong as when I left the conference on the first day.

Grace Hopper Conference 2011

Today marks the last day of the Grace Hopper Conference for Women in Computing. During this conference we were challenged to start our own Tech Blog, so this is my first post in what I hope will be a blog I can keep up with.

I bet you are asking yourself "Who is Grace Hopper?" and Why haven't I heard of this before?"

These are both good questions, and something I asked myself before signing up for this conference.

Grace Hopper was a Computer Scientist in the United States Navy. The Grace Hopper Conference website has more information on this amazing woman. As I have learned more about her, the more I want to empower my girls to go into technology.

The one thing that has stood out to me at this conference is that there is a disconnect between Engineers and the other women in technology. While I am certainly not an Engineer, and I do not have a degree in Computer Science, I do live and breath technology and it has infiltrated every part of my life.

This conference is for University students to network with future companies, and to be encouraged by the women who speak here, but it is more than that. It is a chance for every woman to realize that she can make a difference in society. It is a time for my to realize that, while I don't code, I can diagnose and fix your email account in a matter of moments. I am passionate about technology, and my girls believe me to be Geekier than most other people in their lives.

This conference has shown me that there are still stereotypes I need to break through, and that I can make a difference in my community. I have decided to look into how to reach out to the K-12 grades more and let them know that it is ok to be Geeky.

So, today wraps up an inspirational conference, where I was challenged on so many levels. This is just the first step to complete those challenges.