...
Kaitlin Helfter, Emerging IT Professional in ITaP Research Computing at Purdue University
...
The Global Summit Conference was a great experience and an amazing opportunity to connect with the other scholarship winners and others in the tech industry. Between all the recommended sessions to go to, there was enough time to attend several sessions I was interested in, including topics in cyber security and networking which will help me later in my career. The two keynote presenters had amazing presentations and I am glad I was able to attend.
Erin Plese, Information Security Analyst at Int Northern Arizona University
Although I am new to the IT field, I gained so much knowledge from speaking with so many individuals whether they were from the vendor booths, out in the industry, or from my fellow Higher Education colleagues. I was a bit nervous when I first arrived because I was afraid that everything would have been too technical, and I would have been lost. Although there were some highly technical sessions, of the sessions that I did attend, I was able to keep up and understand the content in which it focused. Additionally, there were several sessions that I attended and was able to further develop my understanding of the content, therefore, allotting me the ability to follow along and grow in my own expertise.
One of my most favorite parts of attending this conference was having the ability to speak with so many unique individuals throughout breakfasts, lunches and receptions! I greatly appreciated having the opportunity to hear their story, learn from them, and garner strength to keep pushing in my own career path. Many of the women we met were able to describe their experience in the IT field and how they arrived at their current path. They are so inspiring! Also, I was so amazed to have the support of so many men within IT, which I've never experienced until I began my new career, it gives me hope that there is a better path for equality within this vast career field.
Overall, the best thing that I can take away from this conference was the knowledge that there are so many men who are also on board with making the workforce a place where women and other minorities can also be encouraged and celebrated. In many of the discussions that I had with my fellow scholarship winners, I have realized that I have a very unique team here at NAU. My team is more positive and invested in my growth and development than many of my peers' colleagues. Knowing that I don't have to constantly prove myself just to be in the same room with my peers is astonishing. I appreciate all the hardships that other women have had to go through to provide me with the opportunity to succeed today.
Katelyn Russell, Systems Administrator II at University of Texas at Austin
I had such a wonderful experienceat the Internet2 Global Summit. The scholarship allowed me truly invaluable networking opportunities, during which I got to share in genuine connections with people I likely wouldn’t have met otherwise. The
Internet2 community is infectiouswith the passion for their work.
The lunches, breakfasts, and every opportunity in-between to interact with other professional and find out how their careers have progressed were enriching. Then, on top of meeting people within the community, it was such an honor to meet and participate in the conference with my fellow awardees.
The panels and discussions helped me build a broader context for project that are on-going within my own organization. I enjoyed learning how other teams have accomplished their own two-factor and other authentication projects. The panel discussion on diversity and inclusion was also very well conducted, which such a good diversity of experience and background and among one of my favorite moments of the conference.
As far as things that I would like to see improved, it would be helpful to see an improvement in standards of behavior for vendors. There were a few moments of inappropriate decorum on the part of vendors, that I feel were unprofessional. I would say that as a more morning person, Idon’t mind early breakfasts, however, I do think it would be helpful to have possibly shorter meals as the discussions did sometimes run down about 20 mins to sometimes a full half an hour before the end of the lunch.
The accommodations and features of the conference were wonderful. I did love the talks and had wonderful interactions with everyone within the internet2 community.
Nuyun Zhang, Research Scientist at Georgia Institute of Technology
I really appreciated the opportunity to come closer to all these women (and men) who are successful. I do not have this type of opportunity on a regular basis to talk to them without the event. I was able to ask about their experience and opinions on many specific questions I had regarding my situation. They provided details and very to the point answers. For example, I asked about child and work balance. Dee said she focused on her two boys until they finished high school and college. I realized it is not late for me in my 30s to do anything I want. I also asked about if being too curious and interested in many topics would be a distraction to success. I got the answer that was, "No worries! Keeping curiosity for many topics and working on them is important in IT and will lead to success."
I was also able to connect with my previous co-workers from Clemson during the executive event at night. I loved it! We talked until 10 PM and shared many personal updates, organizational updates, and experience in work. I felt extremely happy and encouraged.
I loved Howard Pfeffer’s comments about people judging me being too quiet during interview lunch. He said the ability to do work cannot be judged by a person being quiet or talkative. That made me feel less self-criticized and confident. He also mentioned to me about the responsibility of leadership is to make sure things get done, not necessarily done by the leader themselves, which helped me a lot since I was just placed in a leadership role in the past year.
2018 TechEX I2I Scholarship Awardees
Tomomi Imamura, Cybersecurity Testing and Cyber Defense Team Lead at University of Wisconsin-Madison
Attending the Internet2 2018 Technology Exchange conference was a valuable experience. This conference provided me not just opportunities to learn about new technologies and best practices, it also provided me the opportunities to meet with the Internet2 community members. We discussed unique ideas and challenges around technologies and helped each other and collaborated with fellow institutions to come up with better IT solutions.
As a scholarship awardee, I had opportunities to meet with great IT professionals and leaders, and everyone I met welcomed me and discussed various topics with me. Listening to their leadership stories made me feel motivated and energized to continue my own journey. I was delighted to meet with my fellow scholarship awardees who have amazing accomplishments, skills and backgrounds. Getting to know such a great cohort encouraged me to do more in my life. Meeting with Carrie Regenstein, for whom my award is named, was an especially meaningful opportunity for me. Carrie emphasized that being female or underrepresented IT professionals doesn't undermine our abilities. I really appreciate her time and willingness to talk with me in person during the conference.
I also appreciate the opportunity to participate as a panel member for the Gender and Diversity in IT and Security session panel. It was a great speaking experience, and I enjoyed working with my panel members to prepare for the session. We had a good discussion with the audience, and I hope that the session attendees continue Gender, Diversity, and Inclusivity related conversation to educate more people in this topic moving forward.
...
accommodations and features of the conference were wonderful. I did love the talks and
had wonderful interactions with everyone within the internet2 community.
Erin Plese, Information Security Analyst at Int Northern Arizona University
Katelyn Russell, Systems Administrator II at University of Texas at Austin
Nuyun Zhang, Research Scientist at Georgia Institute of Technology