Scholarships For Hispanic Students Pursuing Computer Science In Austin – “This time, this summer, in terms of the social changes and everything else, things finally started,” said Audra Collins, a senior computer scientist at the University of Texas at Austin. Collins is president of the Association of Black Computer Scientists (ABCS), which seeks to create pathways to academic and professional success for Black and other underrepresented students.
In the midst of his illness, earlier this year, he met an elderly friend and close friend América Quistiano. He is the president of the Hispanic Association of Computer Scientists (HACS), which has similar goals for Hispanic and Latino students. These two leaders put together plans to bring about social change for students in the department.
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Black and Hispanic/Latino students have historically been underrepresented in STEM fields, and computer science is no different today. As leaders of their organizations, Collins and Quistiano saw how negative and expressive behavior affected students. Many of its members were the first in their families to pursue a degree in technology, or any degree at all, and struggled in their transition from high school to college. Meanwhile, other church members had to work multiple full-time jobs to support themselves financially. Collins and Quistiano saw these challenges and wanted to help and support these students.
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Left to right: Audra Collins is president of the Association of Black Computer Scientists (ABCS). América Quistiano is the president of the Hispanic Association of Computer Scientists (HACS).
Diversity is not just about who you admit, but who has the support to stay and successfully complete their degree. Audra Collins, ABCS president and senior computer science major
“It’s true that the two sides have come together,” Quistiano said. “Since then we’ve been forever trying to organize funds or scholarships, but for one reason or another it never panned out.”
While Collins and Quistiano were working on their plans, UT’s Department of Computer Science was actually working behind the scenes to develop similar plans. Those plans coincided with those of Amy Bush and Kay Nettle, longtime employees of the department, who wanted to help start a scholarship to help more students who have the ability, but ways to apply UT computer science to study. With departmental matching funds from Bush and Nettle, the shared goals of students, staff, and departments came together to form the Texas Computer Science Endowment for Change.
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“We have been part of the computer science department, as students and staff, for over 50 years together and have seen change in many ways. Helping to promote diversity in a department that is so important to both of us is a wonderful legacy. ,” Bush and Nettle said.
Beginning this year, the grant will support diversity and inclusion efforts and fund opportunities for disadvantaged students who demonstrate a passion for technology.
“Like kindergarten, growing up, I didn’t have anyone for me or a lot of these students to ask about computers,” Quistiano said. “I didn’t know how the technology and the school of everything worked. For example, for the longest time, I thought there was only one big tech that would get you a job in tech. One. Quistiano said he and Collins hoped to build a network of support and understanding among those students.
While ABCS and HACS did this, the two leaders felt it was insufficient for those struggling financially. They wanted to do more and saw this project as an opportunity for the department to better understand the students and understand their views.
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“The difference is not just who you admit, but who has the support to stay and successfully complete their degree,” Collins said. Brent Winkelman, the department’s chief of staff, wholeheartedly agrees, citing the department’s long-term focus on not only recruiting, but also long-term retention — which many organizations can overlook.
“There are times when we can hire a student, and the student comes in and realizes, ‘Gosh, this environment is not home for me,'” Winkelman said. “As a department, we are committed to doing the work to ensure that no student receives this reaction. We want this to be a place where everyone feels warm and welcoming.”
Winkelman said there are more diversity and inclusion initiatives in the works, and the department is looking to expand programs like First Bytes, a camp designed to expose high school girls to futures in computer science, and Code Longhorn, a similar program designed for homelessness in Texas.
“These initiatives are great because what starts here changes the world, doesn’t it? But how can you change the world if the people who create and build new things are not true representatives of the world? – if not everyone in that conversation asked Quistiano.
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As for starting the new endowment, Collins said they did a lot of research on their own time in terms of budgeting, planning, writing and proposal writing. They reached out to computer science professor Alison Norman, who is also chair of the department’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee, for advice and guidance.
Norman wasn’t surprised when Collins and Quistiano contacted him. “Our students are amazing,” he said. “They are hardworking and compassionate and want to make a positive impact on the world and are always eager for information on how to do that.”
Norman gave advice and approved their first project. “We want to be more prepared for any type of strategic planning,” Collins said. “Alison helped us a lot with our efforts and we were very persistent,” he said with a laugh.
After the department learned of Collins and Quistiano’s ideas, both sides worked together. “I think everyone’s goals were aligned, so it was just a matter of the best way to accomplish those goals,” Norman said of the project. Their perseverance and the hard work of staff and teachers soon paid off. Many, many announcements, special meetings, discussions and evaluations later, the endowment was officially established, and began in the fall of 2020.
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The charity is currently listed on HornRaiser for donations and its scholarships are available to current and future students who are taking Code Longhorn courses or are current or future members of HACS or ABCS.
“The buy-in of diversity and inclusion is still there from a student perspective,” Collins said, “but what I wanted to establish was once I graduated and left the computer science department, the staff, the department itself, and the administration— they are now leading the charge.”
Quistiano added: “This is just the beginning. We hope that the endowment will grow and provide support for future generations of students – and that is the mark we want to leave.
And the university is proud to preserve this legacy. “UT is home to many world-class students based on their talents and abilities, as well as their desire to make a positive impact,” Winkelman said. “And I think we’ve seen that over and over again from students like Audra and America, who have asked the department to think more actively about how we can make change.” Program
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We are excited to announce our 2023 CodeHS Fellows! These students were selected from a pool of qualified applicants who were evaluated on short essays, program outlines, and letters of recommendation from faculty.
CodeHS Scholars will receive a $1,000 grant this fall to support their higher education. They will also have the opportunity to network with each other and with members of the CodeHS team during their first year.
Why computer science? “It’s no secret that Informatics is the key to the future. New technological innovations are constantly pushing people into the future at a faster pace, and Informatics is at the forefront of this bloodstream. I want to pursue Computer Science to help advance technology. in the future, using his infinite nature to help the many people who make it possible.
What are you looking forward to in college? “I’m looking forward to being able to schedule my time the way I want! One thing I didn’t particularly like about high school was that every day was so long and repetitive, and I think the way college schedules and courses are. organized throughout the week, giving students more free time to use when they want to have fun!”
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What’s funny about you? “One of my favorite things to do in my free time is folding origami! I’ve folded lots of airplanes, animals, flowers and more.”
Why computer science? “I’m majoring in computer science because I was interested in the coding process in high school and want to pursue his ideas in depth in college. I hope to use my knowledge to solve real-world problems to solve practical meaning.”
What are you looking forward to in college? “I am very happy
