Emily Chahar, IT Project Manager at the University of Delaware
Attending the Internet2 Tech Exchange this year in Denver through the I2I program was a wonderful experience! Being able to bond with my fellow scholarship awardees, as well as engage in conversation with the assigned mentors every day at breakfast and lunch, was personally gratifying. (It also made my first IT conference much less intimidating!) The mentors thoughtfully answered our questions about changes in the industry, how to make more opportunities for women in IT, and how they navigated their own career paths.
I was able to attend a variety of conference sessions on cloud technology, research engagement, cybersecurity, and IAM. The panelists and speakers at the sessions spoke candidly about best practices, lessons learned and future goals at their institutions. I especially appreciated the sessions on CMMC Compliance, the death of unlimited storage, and the changes to the HECVAT, as those are all part of ongoing conversations at my university.
As part of the cross-topic session on I2I and mentorship, I learned more about how Internet2 is dedicated to building diversity and inclusion among IT professionals. I think the I2I initiative, designed specifically for women in the IT profession attending their first I2 conference, is a great idea. It goes a long way to help women build their personal networks with mentors and other higher ed professionals with varied expertise; feel validated in sharing their personal experiences with others; and also have a meaningful first professional development opportunity within the Internet2 community. Thank you to I2 for their commitment to uplifting emerging women professionals like me!
Allison (Ally) Hepp, Systems Engineer at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County
As I was sitting on the 16th street bus in downtown Denver headed to the hotel, I noticed the
gentleman sitting across from me had an Internet2 jacket; I introduced myself and we chatted the rest
of the (short) bus ride to the hotel. He introduced himself as Nick, a member of the Internet2 network
team. The next day, Nick made a point of finding me and saying hello at the conference and checking in
throughout the week to see how my conference experience was going. He was not part of the I2I
program group, nor part of the conference planning group, but made a point to be welcoming to a first-
time attendee. This was just one of many positive interactions I had with many Internet2 staff and the
TechEx22 attendees – they were welcoming, encouraging, and went out of their way to be kind.
TechEx22 was a fantastic experience and a great introduction to the Internet2 community established in
higher education IT. The breakfast and lunch mentoring sessions became a great opportunity to discuss
a large range of topics with those in various roles and career stages – everything from career goals, life
experiences, raising women to excel in STEM fields, and how we create change in our organizations. The
I2I scholarship cohort was a dynamic group of women, both on a professional and personal level. Having
the opportunity to meet and network with the NSRC fellows and WINS-Internet2 sponsored WINS
recipients was a great opportunity. The WINS representation at Internet2 was welcoming and
encouraging about their programs. It was a good opportunity to see like-minded women in roles similar
to my own. I particularly enjoyed the ability to attend sessions in different tracks, as I was able to learn
more about other areas of IT that I don’t often get exposure to in my role.
Steffanie Johnson, IT Security Risk Analyst and Team Lead with the Office of Cybersecurity at the University of Wisconsin–Madison
I am very thankful I was able to be a recipient of the Internet2 Inclusivity initiative. From the
very first engagements, the Internet2 community made me feel extremely welcomed and connected.
Over the course of the week, I had the wonderful opportunity to meet so many technology experts that
were eager to share their knowledge and expertise. With many of us coming together for the first time
since the beginning of the pandemic, you could tell people were excited to be together to engage and
share experiences.
I really appreciated the mix of sessions where some talks remained high level and then other tracks did
more of a deep technical dive to discuss challenges and solutions. A lot of the sessions were small
enough where I felt comfortable to ask questions during or after the presentations. Efforts to bring the
I2I awardees together often during the conference was one of the major positive impacts for me
personally. I instantly felt a bond with the other awardees, and it was refreshing to hear their stories and
to share our experiences as women working in tech. I was happy to learn the conference had the highest
percentage of female attendees this year but there is still more work to be done to increase attendance
and participation.
Thank you to the Internet2 staff and community for welcoming me with open arms. The event was a
success and I hope to connect again soon!