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Elevate Conference and Career Fair, March 2024

Daynah — Sun, 17 Mar 2024 20:08:23 +0000

In celebration of International Women’s Day, ELEVATE Conference and Career Fair on March 7-8, 2024 hosted over 2k women & allies globally, with 87% attendees interested in hearing about jobs, 80+ speakers, 40 mentors, 5 employers recruiting at virtual Employer Booths discussing open roles, what hybrid means, and more! If you missed the virtual conference, watch the playlist below of all 47 sessions. You can also view the most-watched 10 sessions from ELEVATE 2024 Conference & Career Fair here!

Recap of USC Women’s Conference 2024

Daynah — Wed, 13 Mar 2024 02:21:36 +0000

Happy Women’s History Month! I am so grateful for the opportunity to attend the 16th annual USC Women’s Conference last week. It was a whirlwind of a day and a wonderful way to celebrate all the amazing achievements of women throughout the years in our culture and society, and especially in USC’s history.

The program for the conference this year was jam packed with many inspirational and empowering sessions from barrier-breaking industry leaders.

The conference started with our visionary leader, USC President Carol Folt, sharing how the university has become a beacon of unity and cooperation of tackling issues that affect us all.

“Diversity is our strength; unity is our power.”

She shared with us the 5 moonshots that help create a more unified community here at USC.

Frontiers of Computing – $1B+ initiative to accelerate advanced computing and impact.
Health Sciences 3.0 – Transformation of health sciences: education, medical training, practice, and research.
Sustainable Urban Futures – Expanding leadership in sustainability & the urban futures to solve pressing world challenges.
Athletics Reimaged – Advancing ethical, sustainable, & value-based culture for student-athletes, coaches, & Trojan community.
USC Competes – Attract & retain top faculty, staff & students; competitive compensation, accessibility, financial aid student programs & support

These monumental efforts and goals are some of the ways our school is changing for the future and I am excited to be a part of it.

One of the moonshots that is near and dear to me is the “Frontiers of Computing” initiative. Did you know that two USC alumni helped start ChatGPT? You can also thank USC every time you type .com.

“The USC of Advanced Computing is a unique experiment and a new way of thinking of how computing can become the backbone for the university and diverse in so many fields.” -Gaurav Sukhatme, Director of the School of Advanced Computing.

Learn more about the “Frontiers of Computing” initiative at USCin the video below:

For my breakout session, I attended Rhesa’s session on “Embracing Your Power to Create a More Inclusive World.” I had the pleasure of watching her expand our school’s ERG offerings and from that, see how much it has impacted the school’s culture and foster a more friendly, diverse, and inclusive environment.

Rhesa delivered a wonderful presentation and I am very proud to see how much she has grown in her career over the years.

The last discussion panel of the day that I wanted to highlight was “The Power of Collaboration to Fight Cancer” with panelists Peter Kuhn, Jorge Nieva, Assad Oberai, and Amy Ross.

Learn about the latest science and the future of early breast cancer detection using a simple blood draw in this informative panel discussion. Our distinguished panelists will explain how the simplicity of the blood draw, combined with today’s sophisticated understanding of breast cancer through advanced mathematics, can bring confidence to the 70 million American women at risk for this deadly disease.

This discussion just gave me goosebumps. This endeavour would make breast cancer screening more accessible to many people. Early detection is key as they might be easier to treat.

I had an amazing time at the USC Women’s Conference and made so many new friends and connections. I am already looking forward to next year’s event.

Photo Gallery

There are many pictures from my point of view here. To experience more of the excitement, be sure to check out the official photos from the USC Women’s Conference.

I really enjoyed the pre-conference networking and then finally meeting my new friends in person at the event.

My day at the USC Women’s Conference has been quite inspiring and magical.

I got the chance to reconnect with USC Viterbi Professor Oberai at the conference. We worked on creating a web application for Project Restart during the pandemic in 2020. I am excited and happy to learn about his collaboration with Professor Kuhh and Professor Nieva to fight cancer.

I met some new friends and enjoyed hearing all their stories and journey in their careers.

Ink Factory Sketch Notes

Athena Hacks 2024

Daynah — Wed, 28 Feb 2024 03:05:32 +0000

I am very excited to announce that I have been selected to be a mentor at Athena Hacks 2024! I get so much joy out of mentoring and inspiring young minds and thrive on their curiosity. Part of the reason this is so important to me is that I want to be the person that I needed when I was younger and struggling in the world of technology.

Finding a career path was not easy for me. I am glad I gravitated towards learning how to use a computer and then eventually got introduced to coding. My real joy was when I learned how to make a webpage and combined creativity with code. For my career, I get to find creative and innovative solutions to solve real world problems everyday.

I am excited to see different perspectives on problem solving and to learn from the hackers and other mentors as well. I greatly enjoyed my time volunteering as a mentor last year, and cannot wait to for this year’s event!

What is AthenaHacks?

Join us for a spectacular weekend dedicated to closing the gender gap, exploring new technologies, and building the next big thing! Our mission is to support and nurture students of marginalized gender identities in technology by hosting Southern California’s premier women-centric hackathon (trans and non-binary inclusive).

Join us on campus at the University of Southern California (USC) for over 24 hours full of free food, technical workshops, mentorship, social activities, and more! No experience necessary – we only require curiosity and creativity!

Keynote Speaker – Dr. Janie Lee

I am also thrilled to hear Dr. Janine Lee speak at the AthenaHacks 2024 keynote. She’s the Global Head of L&D @ Google and USC Rossier Alum.

USC Women’s Conference 2024

Daynah — Tue, 27 Feb 2024 15:31:28 +0000

I will be celebrating Women’s History Month by attending the USC Women’s Conference this Friday on March 1st! This will be my second time attending the conference and I am extremely excited. Last year’s event was so inspiring, amazing, and very memorable. Read about my experience and takeaways at the USC Women’s Conference 2023 last year.

I am looking forward to attending sessions with motivational speakers, network with inspiring women from all walks of life and experiences, and gain leadership skills from the synergy of all conference attendees. Take a look at the amazing breakout sessions below. It is so hard to only choose two to attend.

Afternoon Breakout Sessions:

Break Out Sessions

Being able to only two (out of 12) intriguing breakout sessions was very difficult. These are the two sessions that I RSVP’d for and am looking forward to them.

Come join the attendees and me on the Whova app to connect before, during, and after the conference! There are currently so many fun and interesting conversations.

D2L Fusion 2023

Daynah — Sat, 29 Jul 2023 18:32:55 +0000

I recently had the opportunity to attend D2L Fusion 2023 at Marriott Anaheim and had an amazing time. It is a all-in-one learning conference, centered around the users and experts of a learning management system called Brightspace. This year’s conference theme was “my learning moment” emphasizing the learning opportunities all around us. This is my first time attending D2L Fusion and I really enjoyed it. It took place in Anaheim, CA and there were so many sessions to choose from.

“D2L’s mission is to deliver innovative solutions that transform the way the world learns. They believe in a better world where learning can be accessible, engaging, and inspiring.“

This is a great mission statement that aligns with my values as a lifelong learner. The more we grow and learn together, the more the world becomes a better place to live in. I am inspired to teach others what I know and to learn from them too. D2L creates software that connects faculty with students and makes learning from anywhere possible.

One of my biggest takeaways was from a sessions I attended called “Reducing Cognitive Load to Ensure LifeLong Learning” by Sheila Unwin.

Session Discussion: We are all aware that what can be quite simple for one person can be overwhelming to another. How to help students who are overwhelmed during a lesson is something that educators must address every day. This session will show instructors how to recognize and then minimize cognitive overload as well as how to construct new and effective learning models.

Although this session was geared towards how we can help our students reduce the cognitive load of their courses, I saw it from the perspective of software development. How can we reduce the cognitive load of our staff and tech team? Can routine tasks be automated? Can user interfaces of our software be more clear or reduce the number of steps needed to capture data? I had lots of ideas for process improvement floating around in my mind during the session.

Another session I really loved being a part of was “Discussion Forum: Women in Leadership Affinity Network“

Session: Join us for an engaging and thought-provoking discussion that aims to shed light on the evolving role of women in educational leadership and explore the challenges, opportunities, and strategies for success. This forum provides a platform to delve into various hot topics and address critical issues faced by women in leadership positions in education and corporate training organizations.

This panel was full of incredible and amazing women who each took a very different path to their leadership roles. I loved each of their stories and found it inspiring to hear how they overcome their struggles, their lessons learned along the way, and what accomplishments they made to achieve their goals.

D2L Fusion was an incredible experience and I am grateful for chance to learn more about the software and how it is used in various places around the world.

It was also a great opportunity to bond with my team members as we brainstorm ideas on how to improve our services for students, staff, and faculty.

D2L Fusion 2024 will be taking place in their hometown of Toronto, Canada on July 8–10, 2024. Pre-register for more details!

Bluey made it into John Baker’s, D2L’s CEO, keynote at the D2L Fusion 2023 conference.

About

Google Generative AI Learning Path

Daynah — Mon, 05 Jun 2023 05:45:22 +0000

I started the learning path for “Generative AI” today with Google Cloud Skills Boost. The first course is an Introduction to Responsible AI which talks about the ethical responsibilities programmers and developers have when using AI in their products.

Google has 7 AI principles:

AI should be socially beneficial
AI should avoid creating or reinforcing unfair bias.
AI should be built and tested for safety.
AI should be accountable to people. We will design AI systems that provide appropriate opportunities for feedback, relevant explanations, and appeal.
AI should incorporate privacy design principles.
AI should uphold high standards of scientific excellence.
AI should be made available for uses that accord with these principles.

Want to learn more? Start your learning journey at cloudskillsboost.google

Introduction to Generative AI

Recap of USC Women’s Conference 2023

Daynah — Sat, 11 Mar 2023 16:17:00 +0000

I had the most amazing day at the USC Women’s Conference. I had the opportunity to network with inspiring women from all walks of life and experiences, and gained leadership skills from many empowering speakers and just soaked up all the positive energy from all the conference attendees. I learned a lot, saw things from new perspectives, and was inspired throughout the day. I enjoyed every minute of it. I cannot wait until next year!

Below are some of the highlights and takeaways from one of the most memorable days I have ever experienced.

Ink Factory Studio was at the event and created these very artistic visual notes from all the main sessions.
For more photos of the event, check out the USC Alumni Flickr Album for USC Women’s Conference 2023.

Sessions:

Knocking Down Barriers and Empowering our Future

Communication is key. Listen more. Learn from others.
Express gratitude each day.
Everyone has creative potential.
Show vulnerability and ask for help.

Resilience in the Boardroom

Be your authentic self to truly be happy
Dream Big
Reframe Failures — these are learning moments.
Be open to new opportunities
Always be kind as it creates a culture of psychological safety

Women’s Health and Our Futures

“We are 50% of the population, but we birth 100% of the population.”
This is an important time in history as reproductive rights are changing
COVID had a massive impact on women in leadership roles.
Recognize the invisible work that women do
Women’s and Children’s health are linked to one another
Take care of you first, so you can take care of others

The Business of Beauty

Beauty starts inside and what how you think about it
Representation matters
What makes you unique?

The Feminist Movements Next Wave

Mass incarceration needs to end as it impacts so many lives and separate people from their loved ones.
Mental health is impacted and isolation becomes an enemy

You Won’t Break My Soul: a love story

Learn to Love Yourself
Great leaders take action – inspire and make positive changes

Make Taste, Not Waste!

It all started when Pulp Pantry’s founder Kaitlin Mogentale watched a friend juice a carrot, seeing firsthand the large amount of fresh pulp that was left behind.
$285 billion worth of food is wasted each year, and Pulp Pantry wanted to change this.
Pulp Pantry was a company with the mission to shake up the food industry by upcycling snacks. They’re real veggie chips made from simple and sustainable ingredients.

Photo Gallery

Elevate Conference 2023

Daynah — Thu, 09 Mar 2023 02:54:38 +0000

Happy International Women’s Day! In honor of this special day, you can join me virtually on March 8-9, 2023 to celebrate women in tech with the Girl Geek X team, 45+ inspiring speakers, and over 5,000 mid-to-senior level women and allies! Register for Geek X’s 6th annual ELEVATE Virtual Conference & Career Fair — it’s free, fun, and will truly inspire you.

Some of the sessions that I attended were:

Day 1 – March 8, 2023:

Keynote: Neurodiversity @ Work – Jessica Sahagian (Director of Engineering, ConnectRN) – Neurodiversity refers to diversity in the human brain and cognition, for instance in sociability, learning, attention, mood, and other mental functions. This was a very eye-opening session where I learned more about inclusivity for all types of people and the joy of being your authentic self at work.
Talk: How to Make Onboarding to a Company’s Legacy Codebase Suck Less – Shanea Leven (CEO, CodeSee) – I inherited about 15+ years of legacy code, so this session really resonated with me.
Talk: Getting Out of Your Comfort Zone – Spandana Govindgari (Staff Tech Lead, Meta) – Sometimes to grow, you have to get comfortable with being uncomfortable.

View all the sessions at elevate.girlgeek.io. I will see you there tomorrow for Day 2!

Google I/O 2023

Daynah — Wed, 08 Mar 2023 04:50:09 +0000

Today, Google announced that their Google I/O 2023 conference will be held on Wednesday, May 10, 2023. Be the first to learn about Google’s latest developer solutions, products, and technology.

Join developers and tech enthusiasts from around the world for livestreamed announcements and launches!

Google I/O is open to everyone online. Register and create your developer profile.

This is one of my favorite conferences as I learn so much from it. Hope to virtually see you there!

Below is a video recap of last year’s conference:

Recap of Athena Hacks 2023

Daynah — Mon, 27 Feb 2023 01:00:24 +0000

I had a fabulous time at Athena Hacks 2023 over the weekend! I am grateful for the opportunity to mentor the next generation of IT professionals, answering questions about web development, career paths, and project management for software development. I enjoyed hearing all the different perspectives on how to solve various challenges and learning about new technologies from other mentors. The positive energy in the room was contagious! It felt great to be apart of such an amazing event. Everyone was enthusiastic and self-motivated to create something innovative and I loved the energy and spirit so much. This was my first hackathon experience and I cannot wait to volunteer again next year.

Many thanks to the Athena Hacks organizers, volunteers, mentors, hackers, and our wonderful sponsors — Bloomberg, Chevron, Bank of America, Invoca, Meta, and StickerMule — for making this event happen!

View the Submitted Projects and Winners of Athena Hacks 2023