Shauna Weiss, a senior software engineering major, was able to attend and represent Miami University at the Women in Technology (WIT) Conference in Cincinnati last week.

This day long conference was started 14 years ago to encourage young high school women in the greater Cincinnati area to pursue careers in the field of Information Technology. Participates got to hear about experiences from professionals, and current students, like Weiss, who are pursuing a degree in this field.

WIT conference logo                                                       

Weiss was able to participate in a panel during the conference with three other current STEM students from local universities. They were all able to discuss their experiences in the industry thus far, and how it has developed them into the women they are today.

During her time at the conference, she was able to promote and educate young women on the importance and value of going into STEM. She was able to learn that girls need to become excited about STEM before college, so that they can feel supported and apart of this field.

While looking back at her experience, Weiss wanted to share with other young girls interested in STEM  to “not be deterred by the ratio of men to women” but to feel empowered from it. She hopes that it will make them work harder to become the best engineer they can be.

Weiss had an amazing experience on the panel, and hopes to continue mentoring young women interested in STEM in the future.

By Maggie Cavanaugh, CEC Reporter