Babson Announces Inaugural Women in Technology Student Fellows

WELLESLEY, Mass., May 11, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Babson has selected the inaugural undergraduate and graduate fellows for the new Women in Technology (WIT) initiative.

The WIT Fellows will be work with faculty, administrators, and industry partners to brainstorm new initiatives for women in technology on the Babson campus.

WIT committees, led by Assistant Professor Ruben Mancha, selected students that felt passionate about changing the gender gap in the technology industry. "These women have a passion for technology as well as gender equality," said Professor Mancha.

"We are so pleased to announce our first Women in Technology fellows," says Dean of the Undergraduate School Ian Lapp. "These women exemplify the future of the technology industry and we are thrilled to have them leading the WIT initiatives on our campus."

"This first group of Women in Technology fellows truly shows the diversity and strength of the Babson community," says Dean of the Graduate School William Lamb. "We look forward to supporting their work to bring a greater impact to the technology space in gender equity."

Undergraduate Fellows

Teresa Wolf '17

"Empowering Women in Technology has been a driving force for all that I do at Babson College. All of my clubs, organizations, personal development, professional development, initiatives for Babson College, and experiences culminate in a passion that can bring expansive value to Technology at Babson College. I have served Babson College in several ways that always return to technology.

"I am confident when I say that I have been the student voice and face of Information Technology on campus. I am beyond excited that we are working towards a larger initiative that I am passionate about, and am humbled to be that initiative's inaugural fellow."

Taylor Cole '19

"Recently I had the opportunity to teach young kids about computer science. I started with two kids: a boy and a girl, twins, in 5th grade.

"The girl was great. She was a quick learner, a sharp-thinker, and really grasped the concepts I was teaching her. She was enjoying herself too. At the end of her hour she looked up at me and said, 'My brother will probably be better at this than me because he is a boy and boys are better with computers.'

"This troubled me. I have been beyond fortunate in my educational journey thus far and I have had the privilege to learn and grow in high-quality schools, surrounded by a supportive cast of family, teachers and friends and not all children have had that.

"This moment is what really sparked my passion in education—specifically technology education. I believe that giving more women the opportunities to learn about a field they are traditionally excluded from is incredibly exciting."

Graduate Fellow

Nikita Damle MS '17

"Today, technology is changing the world. However, in this changing landscape, women get left behind way too easily. One would think that with the passage of time, there would be greater gender equality among men and women across the world, but the trend seems to show otherwise. According to an article published by the Huffington Post, the number of women in technology fell from 35% in 1990 to 26 percent in 2013. Today, less than 20% of the tech jobs in leading technology companies such as Google, Facebook and Twitter are held by women. Where in all this, lies the equality?

"My understanding of the limits of technology and development have been broken down and redefined in the past few months. That's when I realized that you don't need a background in technology to do something revolutionary with it. There is no limit to what you can do, if only you have a little passion. This is the same message I would like to share with every woman who is out there and wants to take her shot at technology. If I could do it, so can she! This is why I am honored to be a part of this fellowship."

Undergraduate Selection Committee

Ruben Mancha Technology, Operation and Information Management (TOIM) 
Donna Stoddard (TOIM) 
Donna Sosnowski Undergraduate Center for Career Development (UG CCD) 
Lucy Turner (UG CCD) 
Ian Lapp (Undergraduate Dean) 

Graduate Selection Committee

Lily Awad (Grad CCD) 
Ruben Mancha (TOIM) 
Cheri Paulson Graduate Center for Career Development (Grad CCD) 
Amanda Malin (Graduate Dean's Office) 
Cheryl Kiser (Lewis Institute) 
Jennifer Ellis (TOIM)

About Babson College

Babson College is the educator, convener, and thought leader for Entrepreneurship of All Kinds^®. The top-ranked college for entrepreneurship education, Babson is a dynamic living and learning laboratory where students, faculty, and staff work together to address the real-world problems of business and society. We prepare the entrepreneurial leaders our world needs most: those with strong functional knowledge and the skills and vision to navigate change, accommodate ambiguity, surmount complexity, and motivate teams in a common purpose to make a difference in the world, and have an impact on organizations of all sizes and types. As we have for nearly a half-century, Babson continues to advance Entrepreneurial Thought and Action^® as the most positive force on the planet for generating sustainable economic and social value.

CONTACT: Brianna Radicioni, [email protected]

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SOURCE Babson College

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