| Kent State was one of the Platinum Sponsors of the
Second Ohio Celebration of Women in Computing
(OCWIC)
that was held Friday, Feb. 16 and Saturday, Feb. 17., at the Deer Creek Resort and Conference Center,
located near Mt. Sterling, Ohio. Sponsorships provided scholarships so that all young women could
attend free of charge.
OCWIC is a regional conference modeled after the international
Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in
Computing. OCWIC is an opportunity for young women to explore the opportunities in IT, to
network
with other young women and to meet possible mentors. OCWIC hopes to encourage women to
complete their studies in computing by exploring careers and meeting women leaders from business,
industry and academia.
Prof. Angela Guercio (Assistant Professor of Computer Science at the KSU Stark
Campus) was one of the organizers
of the event. Three students from Kent State (Shannon Steinfadt, Wen Liu and Brandy Rimmele
) and Prof. Kathy Stirbens from the KSU Stark Campus participated in the conference.
More than 100 attendees, including technical people ranging from freshman to grad students, from
faculty to women working in IT in industry, and from thirteen colleges and universities from Ohio and
Michigan, participated in the conference.
The conference program included parallel and plenary sessions, technical papers and posters and
panels designed to inspire, educate and encourage technical women and to enable networking among
women participating in the IT field in Ohio. One keynote speaker was Dell CIO Susan Sheskey, who has
worked for Dell for over 13 years.
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