Attending GHC was such an amazing experience, and I will forever be grateful for the opportunity to attend GHC. Beyond just being incredible for career development and learning new skills, it's also incredibly inspiring to see so many women in tech all at the same time. It’s a celebration of DEI and belonging. Common feedback from underrepresented genders in tech, as to why they leave the industry or why they have doubts, are that there isn’t enough representation, and they don’t feel like they belong. Imposter syndrome especially is extremely prevalent. That’s why a community within the workplace and outside it is so incredibly important and rewarding in the long run. Even at UWaterloo, in 2022,
There is such an incredible Diversity in:
- Introverts & Extraverts
- Traditional & Non-traditional tech backgrounds
- Culture & Ethnicity
- LGBTQIA+ Community
- Interests and goals
- Age and experience level
There is a huge list of panels and workshops that you can attend at this conference. They cover almost all aspects of computer science, industry experience, and career developed. Whatever area of tech you’re interested in, very likely there will be a professional giving a talk about it. It was incredibly valuable to hear professionals from different aspects of the industry give talks. Whether that's an introduction to the product their team works on, or career and life advice, I loved the diversity of talks and the valuable insights that the speakers provided.
I attended two talks in person and 1 online:
Robotic Simulations in AWS
- Connecting AWS resources with robotic simulations
- Cheaper than having real hardware and testing on that
- Information about ML models and using AWS
The future of Quantum: Introduction to Quantum Computing
- Amazing metaphor for the development of quantum computing
- Brief timeline of what the speaker things quantum computing will look like in the next 5-20 years
An Introvert’s guide to bringing your best to the table
- How introversion is (negatively) perceived in the workplace and how to address that, tips and advice for introverts and allies to make the workplace more “introvert friendly”
- For introverts: redefine how you’re taking breaks, draw boundaries, design an energy system for work and study
Opening and Closing Ceremony:
- Keynote speeches from the CEO of AnitaB.org, Brenda Darden Wilkerson.
- Interviews from Megan Rapinoe and Anita Hill.
- Live performance from Jessie J.
This conference also is thought provoking about change, in work and in school. In general, I had an amazing time, and I would recommend anyone with the opportunity to attend, to do so. You won’t regret it.
-Kitty Li, 3A CS Student