Here are the student and panelists’ feedback:
Eva DeThomas, undergrad CS student:“Thank you so much for putting it together, I really respect all the work you’ve been doing for the community and appreciate the opportunities you’ve brought to us. The panel was great! It was nice to hear from women in tech with a variety of backgrounds and values. I really appreciated their emphasis on the importance of networking, keeping an open mind when it comes to new opportunities and their experience working through challenges. Their stories were extremely inspiring and I am looking forward to more panels in the future.”
Teresa Mei, graduate CS student: “This panel taught me not to be afraid of change and to try out new opportunities, the importance of networking and to always be open to learning new skills. Overall event was amazing. You did a wonderful job and it was helpful that you reiterated what the panelist said because it gave another chance to let their words sink in. I love how you sent them the questions beforehand so they were prepared and we got to benefit from that. I also enjoyed how each guest had different backgrounds and experiences and how their current roles are different from one another, that way we were able to learn a lot more.”
Jade Hao, undergrad CS student: “Truly such a nice event that you planned/organized. What I really enjoyed the most about the panel was the diversity of panlist that were present. Overall, I think it was an eye-opening experience to see how diverse the CS field is giving a new perspective on how versatile a CS/tech degree can be. I think oftentimes there is a misconception about being a CS major and being confined to only being a software developer/web developer (which aren’t bad but I feel are often highlighted when discussing jobs). It gave way for a discussion of bridging other STEM and non-STEM subjects with CS, and allowing myself and my friends to look into other avenues. Secondly, I really enjoyed the effort and attention that it took to organize something such as this. The event itself didn’t feel rushed or look that way, as well as the marketing for the event was great! I was looking forward to it since I heard a lot of other people talking about it and being excited to meet and talk to tech professionals. I feel the event was a great way to get a more personal look into the tech world. I really enjoyed the size of the panel and the amount of people in attendance. I find that usually there is a lot of overcrowding during recruiting events and oftentimes it’s hard to ask questions, with the Google Panel I felt not as stressed or nervous to ask questions and the atmosphere was welcoming”
Caterina Ponti, undergrad CS student: “Regarding the Google career panel, I really appreciated how detailed the Instagram post was. Through it, I was able to learn more about the guest speakers and get very excited about the event. Thanks to this information, I was able to learn about future prospective jobs and decided to talk to one of the panelists at the end of the event. The panel discussion felt very personal and I felt encouraged to engage with the speakers.”
Panelist: “Panel was organized perfectly and the panel moderation was very insightful and well prepared with helpful and meaningful questions. Students were engaging and made great connections with us after the panel. They got a chance to ask more questions and connect with us over LinkedIn. We are happy the turn out of this event and with the impact it had on the community”
We are so lucky to have our amazing club leaders put on these wonderful events for their community to inspire other students on their career journeys. A big thank you to Women in Tech and Aklile for hosting such an informative and engaging event.