Grace Hopper Celebration inspires FDU math and computer science majors

October 23, 2019 – Three students from Fairleigh Dickinson University’s Florham Campus attended the 2019 Grace Hopper Celebration, the world’s largest gathering of women technologists, from October 1-4 in Orlando, FL.

Senior computer science major Lakshna Mageshkumar, senior computer science major Agnes Gabain and senior mathematics major Luisa Romero all attended the conference of 25,000 attendees on a full scholarship.

Mageshkumar left with several job offers and accepted an official offer with The Walt Disney Company as a full-time security specialist for their global information security team.

“Being at the conference made me think of all the different possibilities for the future in tech and how I could contribute to this world effectively,” she says. “The best part of this conference wasn’t just the career opportunities, but to be able to give and gain support from 25,000 women (and some men), encourage each other to step outside our comfort zones, and chase after our dreams.”

“Attending the Grace Hopper conference inspired me to inspire others,” says Agnes Gabain.

The students received the opportunity to network with over 30 people each day at the career expos, attend professional leadership development workshops and see presentations of new technology from major tech companies like Google, Microsoft and Apple.

“Attending the Grace Hopper Celebration truly gave me the advantage of meeting with recruiters face-to-face, increased my motivation and inspired me to inspire others,” says Gabain.

“I was able to meet the most driven, ambitious and down-to-earth people in the technology field,” says Luisa Romero.

For Romero, being able to establish relationships with people from other parts of the world was a highlight of her experience.

“I was able to meet the most driven, ambitious and down-to-earth people in the technology field,” Romero says. “Being surrounded by some of the brightest people in the field, I was able to gain an appreciation for the industry as a whole, while also gaining an extreme desire to pursue a higher standard of greatness in my academic career.”

The Grace Hopper Celebration, organized by non-profit AnitaB.org, was founded in 1994 to bring the research and career interests of women in computing to the forefront and has grown into the world’s largest gathering of women in technology.

“Our students continue to make us proud, and we are especially delighted that Agnes, Luisa, and Lakshna, who successfully applied to the GHC scholarship opportunity, were selected for this honor to attend the world’s largest gathering of women technologists. This is the first time that students from FDU’s Florham Campus attended the conference and we hope that this will be an annual tradition,” says Laila Khreisat, chair of the department of mathematics, computer science and physics.