Role Models in AI: Daisy Rosalez
Daisy Rosalez, a student at Foothill College, is working hard to make AI accessible to students at her community college. She founded the Foothill College Cognitive Science and Artificial Intelligence Club with a group of like-minded peers, and it has since led to a comprehensive conference of projects. She plans to create a nonprofit organization to bring the model to other community colleges.
Learn more about how she first became interested in AI, how she hopes to help shape a positive future in this field, and where she plans to go next.
We interviewed Daisy as part of AI4ALL’s Role Models in AI series, where we feature the perspectives of people working in AI in a variety of ways. Check back here weekly for new interviews.
As told to Nicole Halmi of AI4ALL by Daisy Rosalez; edited by Panchami Bhat
NH: You’re a student at Foothill College in the Bay Area, where you founded a Cognitive Science and AI club. Can you talk about the goals of your club and why you decided to found it?
DR: The lack of resources for community college students interested in AI is a huge problem. When I got to Foothill, I found that we didn’t have access to resources like hardware, software, research labs, and funding for projects in AI. Other students and I kept searching for these resources outside of school. Eventually, we decided to create our own space within Foothill, so we started the Cognitive Science and AI club.
The club started with a few people who were interested in artificial intelligence and the disciplines that make up cognitive science, but it has since been brought to life with the support of more students and other clubs. The goal of the club is to create a supportive ecosystem for club members where they can build relationships and connect with mentors.
Soon, we hope to create a nonprofit organization called Community College Students for AI to help community college students get access to resources that support their interest in STEM fields like cognitive science, neuroscience, artificial intelligence, data science, machine learning, and math.
Our goal for this nonprofit is to create support for community college students across the nation and eventually implement the model internationally to support students that don’t follow a traditional educational path.
From your perspective, what are the main barriers that stand in the way of community college students who want to pursue AI?
At Foothill College, students have access to introductory classes in Java and C++, but students don’t necessarily have access to research opportunities, software, or hardware. It can also be a struggle to find mentors and instructors with experience in the field.
While attending talks about AI at places like Google and Stanford, there were a few times I remember leaving feeling more confused than when I went in. I didn’t always understand the language they used. If you’ve never really heard about those concepts before, they can be frightening and intimidating. In our club, we work to make sure we’re using simple language to express concepts. We also actively acknowledge the fact that we’re all still learning, to create a supportive and accepting environment for all club members. We support each other so that we don’t get scared away from the field.
Your club members work on social impact AI projects. Can you talk about how that works and what kind of impact you’re hoping to make through this work?
Each project team includes both technical and nontechnical people, and a faculty member overseeing the project. We particularly wanted the experience to be inviting for students that have no experience in artificial intelligence.
In our first conference at the end of the quarter, we showcased the projects students are working on. An example of one of the project areas is climate change. In that project, students use graphics or R to show the effect of certain variables on the planet.
Foothill College has been looking for ways to help build stronger ties between students, I’m proud to say that this conference has helped many different clubs across campus connect.
From your perspective, what should we all be doing now to create a positive future for AI?
I think that the first change that should come to AI is in access or the distribution of the benefits of the field. It’s a huge problem that some students have more access to resources than others. A more sustainable model of the field would allow the diverse crowd of community college students to pursue AI.
If we make the tools to get involved in AI accessible at community colleges, then we’re truly opening the doors to the community. More people will have the opportunity to be involved in AI and they will also learn about how artificial intelligence is going to impact them.
Technology is changing lives all around us, but right now, only people who have access these tools can innovate for themselves and their communities. What about the underrepresented communities that don’t have access to the tools?
We need to empower communities around the world so that they can fight for themselves and create a better world using technology.
How did you get interested in AI? What has your experience been like pursuing AI?
I remember telling my little nephews, “You guys should look into computer coding, you guys should get into the STEM field.” I always talked about the tech world as if it was for someone else.
I had this giant wake-up call one day when I realized if I really believed these tools and technologies were changing the world, then I needed to be a part it.
Who were your role models growing up? Do you have any role models now?
My role model is my mom. She never stops learning and always reminds me that I am capable of anything if I set my mind to it.
Throughout my childhood, my mom spent a lot of time giving back to the indigenous community we came from. Our Christmas holiday tradition was traveling to Mexico and throwing a posada — or celebration — for the local children and women of the village. My mom would collect toy or clothing donations and save money to buy gifts for the children, housewares for the women, and blankets for everyone.
What’s next for you?
I have been working very hard for the past few years to become the kind of candidate that gets accepted into Stanford. I believe in their motto and their vision of intellectual vitality. I plan to apply to Stanford to pursue their Symbolic Systems program.
There’s nothing better than being surrounded by passionate people who believe in the future of AI. I just want to continue working — working towards understanding this field myself, but also working to advocate for other people, community college students especially, to have access to this field as well.
About Daisy Rosalez
Daisy Rosalez proudly identifies as a member of La Tribu Coca de Mezcala, Jalisco, an indigenous community in Mexico. Daisy works as a Surgical Services intern at the VA Health Care Center and is an Air Force reservist who works as a flight line technician for C-17’s. Daisy is a full-time Honors Institute student at Foothill College in Los Altos.
She is President and Founder of the Foothill College Cognitive Science Artificial Intelligence Club, which encourages community college students to participate in AI. The club has been successful in breaking down barriers that divide technical and nontechnical students. As support for the club continues to grow, members are actively working on creating a nonprofit called Community College Students for Artificial Intelligence.
Follow along with AI4ALL’s Role Models in AI series on Twitter and Facebook at #rolemodelsinAI. We’ll be publishing a new interview with an AI expert on Wednesdays this winter. The experts we feature are working in AI in a variety of roles and have taken a variety of paths to get there. They bring to life the importance of including a diversity of voices in the development and use of AI.
