This year, I had the opportunity to attend my first Grace Hopper conference in person. After hearing all the stories about Grace Hopper in the past and having attended the conference virtually for the past two years since COVID-19, I think most of us were really excited to hear that the conference this year would be held in person. Although I knew how large of a conference Grace Hopper was, it was really shocking to see the magnitude of the conference and the number of women that came out, which was particularly evident during the opening ceremonies. Sitting in the opening ceremony, I felt very empowered but also strange. Typically, as a female in tech, we are usually surrounded by predominantly male peers whether this is in the workplace or in an academic setting. It felt good knowing that there were so many other women in computing, and visually seeing that was very comforting. Throughout the conference, some of my highlights included the Career Expo and the ability to talk directly to recruiters and engineers at different booths, and also collect a lot of really fun swag. I also enjoyed the workshops and sessions that were held. Some of the sessions I attended surrounded figuring out if grad school was for me, and learning tips on how to break into PM. Beyond the workshops, I also thoroughly enjoyed talking to other attendees that flew in from different parts of the world and hearing about their different experiences. For anyone considering attending GHC in the future, I would highly recommend it as it's truly an empowering and unique experience.
-3B CS Student