A group of female students at Northwest Early College High School earn multiple national computing awards
A group of female students at Northwest Early College High School took a megabyte out of the competition scoring multiple NCWIT Aspirations in Computing (AiC) High School Awards out of 3,300 high school applicants across the nation.
Each year, U.S. high school students in grades 9 through 12 who are women, genderqueer, or non-binary are eligible to receive recognition for their aptitude and aspirations in technology and computing, as demonstrated by their computing experience, computing-related activities, leadership experience, tenacity in the face of barriers to access and plans for post-secondary education.
“We are proud of this group of young ladies who were able to highlight their leadership qualities and ability to excel in computing and technology activities,” said Principal Frank Clark. “It is always great to see females excited about pursuing previously male dominated fields. They have worked hard to earn these high designations and show a lot of promise to succeed in computer science or technology driven professions.”
The multi-tiered award structure includes Winner, Honorable Mention, and Rising Star designations at National and Regional Affiliate levels, serving all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, all U.S. overseas military bases and Canada.
Regional Affiliate Award programs are hosted in 79 locations nationwide by NCWIT Alliance member organizations—a powerful, national network of universities, companies, non-profits, and government organizations working to increase the influence and meaningful participation of girls and women from every community.
This year, 40 winners and 360 honorable mentions were selected. NWECHS had two Affiliate winners, six Rising Stars, five Honorable Mentions and one National Honorable Mention.
Evelyn Reyes and Vanessa Barba were Affiliate winners. Barba also received National Honorable Mention. Itzel Salinas, Yael Osio, Lisette Hernandez, Madeleine Coley, Lauren Rout and Ines Andrade won Rising Stars. Elissa Perez, Victoria Hernandez, Lluvia Tovar, Fatima Garcia and Melina Holguin earned Honorable Mentions.
Award recipients are selected based on their aptitude and aspirations in technology and computing, as demonstrated by their computing experience, computing-related activities, leadership experience, tenacity in the face of barriers to access and future plans. Since 2007, more than 25,000 students have received an AiC Award.