My college search for a role model: I Found her. As a TV character.
A #WomensHistoryMonth post by Jennifer Martinez, a freshman at Columbia University studying Computer Science and Electrical Engineering.
I am a huge binge watcher. Whether it’s Prime, Netflix or Hulu, I am there. This doesn’t mean that I can do it all the time — I am a student after all. Being an intended Computer Science major at Columbia University has been an interesting roller-coaster ride. Classes are hard. But I also observed that the majority of my STEM professors are male. What surprised me most was that during my time at Columbia, I actually thought that I might be losing my passion for computer science. At one point, I was considering transferring out of the engineering school and pursuing psychology instead. This was a rough time for me and I realized it was because I didn’t have a role model in New York City. Don’t get me wrong, I do have some amazing mentors in Los Angeles, but our communication has become limited due to scheduling conflicts.
Aside for my passion for CS education, what has kept me pursuing computer science is my love of TV Shows.
During my binge-watching peak, I started to wonder why I watched an extensive amount of shows at the point when I felt hopeless at Columbia. So, what did I do? I started pulling up all the shows I watched in those weeks. I noticed that most of them were STEM-based shows and that my favorite characters were usually the tech-y people. This includes my favorite TV show: Criminal Minds. I love Crime TV and the team dynamic that the show creates with its characters. My favorite team member is Penelope Garcia.
Although I wasn’t always a fan of her relationships, I admire her story and motivation. Before her time with the team, she was a vigilante hacker who would hack a company whenever she thought it was taking part in criminal activity. Once she was caught, she had the choice to serve jail time or join the Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) of the FBI and she chose the latter. I learned that having a gray past isn’t necessarily bad if it allows you to grow and become someone better.
Garcia was a major influencer in my decision to stick to computer science and her presence helped me maintain a positive mindset during rough times.
Of course Penelope Garcia is just one amazing fictional female computer science role model on TV. Other role models include but are not limited to:
- Raven Reyes — mechanical engineer [The 100]
- Skye — hacker, Jemma Simmons — biochemist [Agents of Shield]
- Felicity Smoak — computer scientist [Arrow]
- Dr. Temperance “Bones” Brennan — anthropologist, Angela Montenegro — forensic artist & tech guru, and Dr. Camille Saroyan — forensic pathologist [Bones]
I was lucky enough to start my computer science journey during middle school. I had the encouragement of Ms. Kim Merino who directed me to many resources after she taught me how to use Scratch and Codecademy. I also recognize that not everyone starts out this way. Being a young woman in computing, I appreciate all the direct support that I receive, but there are also other ways of maintaining positivity such as indirect advice from favorite TV Shows. Some might think that having fictional role models from shows might not be the most beneficial, however, at the same time, there are students who don’t have first-hand access to role models in the industry, but still need advice on how to start their tech journey. I have found Criminal Minds’ Penelope Garcia to be someone with whom I share a passion for helping others and I can relate to some of her struggles as she pursues her technology career. And even though we can’t ever actually communicate with fictional characters, I believe that they are still as equally important to our growth because they encourage us, inspire us and help us believe in ourselves.
Jennifer is currently a freshman attending Columbia University in NYC where she is planning to study Computer Science with a minor in Electrical Engineering. She is a 2017 National Awardee for the National Center for Women and Information Technology (NCWIT) Aspirations for Computing Award. One of Jennifer’s proudest achievements is speaking to her middle school math teacher about creating a CS elective for students in grades 7–10 through which she exposed 409 students to CS and stressed the importance of CS education. When Jennifer is not coding, you can find her tutoring students in STEM or helping high school seniors apply to college and for financial aid. In the future, Jennifer hopes to create robots that can help people during natural disasters by building a filter system for clean and drinkable water in developing countries. She would also like to start a nonprofit organization in order to continue inspiring children in her community.
