Why are you involved with IGNITE Worldwide?
IGNITE Worldwide aligns with my values of promoting diversity and inclusion in STEM through visibility, education and outreach.
How has IGNITE Worldwide inspired you?
Hearing from students during the Q&A and seeing their survey responses highlighted in the follow-up event recap blog really makes me feel like I’m glowing from the inside. The day-to-day can bring you down, but knowing that somewhere, my words and presence or those of our panelists have made an impact on someone just reinforces the importance of what IGNITE Worldwide does for girls and non-binary students.
What would you like our wider community to know about IGNITE Worldwide?
IGNITE Worldwide is not just an amazing opportunity for girls and non-binary students to hear from womxn and non-binary people working in STEM, it’s also a great opportunity to meet other people who have cool jobs and do fascinating, barrier-breaking work. In this time of limited social contact, it becomes even more meaningful to form those kinds of connections with people who share the same passion and purpose as you.
Bio
After being adopted by Chicago for 14 years, Stephanie hit ‘RESET’ and returned to her hometown of Detroit in 2015 to reboot her writing ambitions into a tech career. This bold move led to a foray in Computer Science education, and working closely with nationally recognized STEM education advocacy groups like Black Girls Code and SMASH Academy. Before she became an Software Impact Program intern with the Developer Relations team at Planet, the leading provider of global, daily satellite imagery and insights, she joined CODE313 as a Coding + Web Design Instructor. With over a decade of experience in Media Communications, the Grand Circus Detroit (Javascript, ’16), Integrate Detroit (Software Development, ‘18) alumna is always looking to share her passion for the T in “STEM” with developers & non-developers alike.