The 60 high school girls attending the Zoom panel were hearing all about the importance of mentoring women in cyber when one of them clicked off mute and got everyone's attention.
She asked whether any of the panelists, all women who work at
'Everyone nodded their head,' said
The panel was part of a two-week summer program with Girls Who Code, an organization that seeks to close the gender gap in entry-level tech jobs and change perceptions about what programmers look like and what they do. Girls Who Code is a strategic partner in
'Our strategy with these summer programs is intentional - to increase the number of women and people of color in tech and engineering careers. It's a continuous process to remove the multiple barriers and pitfalls any student can have throughout their trajectory,' said
A summer of STEM
The summer program provided hands-on computer science education for girls in 10th through 12th grade, all while giving them a firsthand look at technology jobs as well as guidance from
'They get to see people who are successful in this line of work. They get to say, 'That person seems like me. If they're successful, maybe I can be, too.''
'They get to see people who are successful in this line of work,' said
The most recent summer session was held virtually and included 350 students from
The girls worked on team coding projects, used a Girls Who Code portal to build websites about causes they support, and presented their work in a showcase to
Some of the students took a virtual tour of the new Advanced Integration Manufacturing Center at Raytheon Intelligence & Space's
'They kind of walked away in awe that this capability exists and that they could potentially do this as a career later in life,' Adams said. 'They were staring wide-eyed. They were mesmerized watching it unfold.'
The bigger picture
'The cyber industry has a talent shortage, and it's massive,' Hammond said. 'There are so many choices now where talent can go - this is one way
That was obvious during the cyber panel, which included early-career employees as well as senior leaders. The girls asked so many questions they ran out of time, so Hammond and Adams answered them offline.
'They just lit up that chat feature. They asked questions about the things that were on their mind,' Hammond said. 'They really got a lot out of the session.'
Adams worked to coordinate and plan the summer 2022 program with about 70 employee speakers and volunteers.
'We want to inspire them to go into STEM, but it's the other way around, too. They inspire all of us,' Adams said. 'These high school juniors and seniors are brave enough to go into this virtual setting and do something they've never done before.'
'We want to inspire them to go into STEM, but it's the other way around, too. They inspire all of us.'
Throughout the two-week program, Hammond and Adams saw the students engaged every day - connecting with
The question about imposter syndrome during the Zoom panel stuck with Adams. And she has some advice for anyone who feels they're not good enough to be where they are.
'Knowing that other people go through it helps you overcome it,' she said. 'Take a step back, look at things that you've accomplished in your life and remember that. Nobody walks the same path.'
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