Wonderful advice to young women at the "Go Girl, Go for IT" conference

Today, two colleagues of mine and I accompanied 46 year 9 and 10 girls to the Go Girl conference at Deakin University. After a warm welcome by program director, Fi Slaven, the presentations started with the day's conference patron, Karen Stocks, Managing Director of Twitter Australia (@KazStocks). Karen gave the students 3 pieces of advice:
  1. It is okay not to have a life plan. Follow passions, dreams. Do something that makes your heart beat faster. Trust that you'll end up somewhere good.
  2. Education, education, education. Don't just get a degree, do well. Good grades will show that you can apply yourself.
  3. You will earn credibility through sustained performance. Be humble, patient and respect your elders, even when you feel that you're the smartest person at the table.

Next up was Tammy Butow (@tammybutow) , senior digital strategist at NAB. It was inspiring to see someone achieve so much at such a young age. She encouraged the girls to build products, learn to code and form teams with complementary skills.

Dr Emilia Belluci from Deakin University spoke about the different kinds of jobs and tertiary qualifications that can help people start in those positions. She emphasised that jobs in IT changed over time and that a solid background helped people adapt to those changes. Asked what she liked about her job, Emilia replied: "Everyday is different. The ride is fantastic. That's what I love about my job."

Permenthri Pillay from IBM told us about her journey in IT and government services in South Africa and Australia. She encouraged the students to find mentors and to think "how can IT make a difference in my other interests?" When asked for a public-speaking tip, she replied: "Communicate with integrity and then you will definitely have an impact."

Charlotte Wylie (@Charliewylie11), whose job title had something about service development, delivery and digital defence at some bank (Which bank? Ah, yes, the Commonwealth Bank), spoke to us about her journey through several careers, adventures and countries. It all led to her current, senior role. She encouraged the girls to follow their interests and to say "yes" to opportunities as they presented themselves. Charlotte used the idea of "wandering along with interest" as a metaphor for developing their careers and living their lives.

A recurrent theme at the conference was to take jobs even when you're not sure how to accomplish aspects of them. Say yes and work it out later! This was particularly prominent in Anna Liebel's presentation. Anna "fell into" an IT career without a relevant degree. She concentrated on her strengths which centred around dealing with people and understanding their needs. Her career spanned 20 years and several companies, including seek.com.au and Telstra.

The day finished with an engaging speaker with an incredible human touch, Richenda Vermeulen (@RichendaG). Richenda is the founder of ntegr!ty, a company that helps businesses build a social media strategy. Her story was a personal one. Two take-aways from her presentations were: "When you take a risk, you enable someone else to do the same." And "Remember not to be afraid." This struck me as the opposite to the motto of the dad in the Dreamworks animation, The Croods: "Never not be afraid." He could have learnt his lesson more easily had he been in Richenda's presentation!

Finally, I leave you with this quote from Charlotte Wylie's last slide:
The world needs dreamers & the world needs doers, but above all, the world needs dreamers that do.  

I dare not add any words of my own!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Baalbek (City of the Sun)

We have just returned from a day in Baalbek. Internet access is down, so I am writing this to debrief myself. I have always wanted to go to Baalbek as it is an iconic place in Lebanon. I didn't know much about what was there, except for the fact that I would find a well preserved Roman temple. It was a very Lebanese experience! The army had come in and shut down the whole place in preparation for a visit to the Baalbek festival by the President, the Prime Minister and several other dignitaries. We found ourselves pleading our case with those in charge. We then gained the concession of being allowed to join a group of French tourists who were being looked after by a well-connected guide. The guide was very knowledgeable. He conducted the tour entirely in French. The temples I learned that the first temple was built by the Phoenecians. It was dedicated to Baal. Bek came from the name of the location, the Bekaa valley. The Romans then transformed it into the largest temple dedicated t
Read more

Book Review: The Math(s) Fix - Part 1 of 2

Image
The Math(s) Fix is Conrad Wolfram's case for teaching mathematics with the assumption that computers exist! To be clear from the beginning, Wolfram is not advocating that we solve the same problems but with a greater reliance on computers and calculators. He wants us to recognise that computers have revolutionised the discipline of mathematics and that we need to reflect this change in our curricula. In the following lines, I will present a summary of Wolfram's thesis, as I understand it. My aim is to give you enough of an idea so you can decide whether you want to read the book for yourself. This part will concentrate on the case that the book builds for a radical change of the maths curriculum. Part 2 will explain the alternative in more detail.
Read more