Meet Green River student and Grace Hopper scholar Sophie Canoy
Over 18,000 attendees from nearly 100 countries convened in Orlando, Florida last week for the Grace Hopper Celebration (GHC) of Women in Computing. Co-founded by Dr. Anita Borg and Dr. Telle Whitney in 1994 and inspired by the legacy of Admiral Grace Murray Hopper, GHC brings together women technologists and the brightest minds to highlight the contributions of women to computing.
As the world’s largest annual technical conference for women in computing, GHC features a packed agenda of speakers and presenters, results in collaborative proposals, and provides mentoring, networking, and professional development opportunities. Comprehensive scholarships covering conference registration, flights, hotel accommodations, meals, and more are also available to students and faculty.
Among attendees at this year’s celebration was Green River College student Sophie Canoy, who attended the conference on a full scholarship. Canoy, who is nearing completion of her bachelor’s degree in software development, is a case study in hustle, juggling life as a full-time student while working as an Applications Support Analyst at Sound Physicians in Tacoma, WA.
I sat down recently with Canoy to talk about her eye-opening GHC17 experience. In our Q and A below, she reflects on her journey in tech, spotlights her top conference takeaways, and offers practical tips for landing a Grace Hopper student scholarship.
Every good story has a beginning, middle, and end. Where did your story in tech start?
Sophie Canoy: I actually started in Chemical Engineering at a prestigious University of California school nearly 20 years ago. Something most 18-year-olds don’t realize upon finishing high school is that just because you get into a “BIG” college doesn’t mean you’ll be happy there. Finding a good fit community-wise, culture-wise, and academically is VERY important.
Fast-forward several years. I first heard about Green River College’s bachelor of applied science in software development while taking a C# class at nearby Pierce College. An instructor there, who was a fantastic mentor and still is, was very enthusiastic about me finishing my bachelor’s degree and he said I’d enjoy the classroom atmosphere at Green River over an online degree. I transferred in, and am now a few quarters away from completing my bachelor’s degree. I’ve been truly blessed by various people who have encouraged me and saw potential I didn’t see in myself.
You attended Grace Hopper last week as a student scholar. What was the experience like?
SC: The 2017 Grace Hopper Celebration (GHC17) was attended by 18,000 women in technology. Incredibly relevant workshops, keynotes, tech talks, panels, and mentoring sessions filled the days, while each night ended with parties and info-sessions hosted by companies like Google, Twitter, Disney, and more. It was an amazing opportunity to be surrounded by extraordinary female leaders in the industry. Women who were experts in their fields spoke of the mentors that helped them on their career path as well as how they were able to overcome adversity and bias. It was an uplifting and highly educational experience.
What were your top takeaways from GHC17?
SC: The hot topics of the conference were Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, and Open Source. Keeping current about how these tech topics intersect with ethics, business, government, and larger socio-economic structures is extremely important. While we may not all be cutting-edge researchers in AI, we should be knowledgeable about how these topics may affect our future career paths and society in general.
Also, the most interesting conversations I had at the conference were only peripherally about coding, technology, and career paths. These were the conversations where I was able to make a simple human connection to people I spoke with at GHC17, forming surprising and relevant networking and LinkedIn contacts. I know the women I met will remember me, as I will remember them, and if an opportunity comes up where we can connect or share resources, I know that I would be comfortable and most willing to do so.
What did the GHC scholarship cover? And do you have any tips for college students who are looking to apply next year?
SC: 800 scholars were chosen to receive free hotel, free airfare, free admission, a $300 debit stipend, $125 food court stipend, and all manner of mentoring and jockeying for interviews with well-known tech companies.
Surprisingly, or perhaps unsurprisingly, the majority of scholarship applications were disqualified and not completely read by the GHC panel because the applications were filled out incorrectly, or were incomplete. The panel received several thousand scholarship applications. Only around 2,500 of them were completed correctly. It seems following directions, paying attention to detail, and thoughtfully answering the short questions that are included in the application are the best ways to earn a conference scholarship.
My best advise to students? Apply. I tried to get other women I knew to apply. They always had excuses. I don’t know if I can make it. I don’t have time. It’s hard to get a letter of recommendation. Excuses. Lame ones. Grace Hopper pays for EVERYTHING and I received a ton of interviews from prestigious companies that have given me great insight into how I can fit into the tech workplace.
What about Green River’s software development program has helped you achieve success?
SC: Getting Agile experience in Ken Hang’s IT 355 Agile Development Methods course really helped. I’ve built strong technical skills throughout the program, and that is truly important, but the reality is, most employers are taking that as a given. You should know your data structures and algorithms and best coding practices.
I’ve learned that it’s important to persevere and finish your degree. That is how employers first judge whether or not you have technical skills. They are going to assume you have the skills when they see that degree on your resume, so you had better make sure you know your stuff because you will be tested. Literally, and on a white board.
As a student who landed a technical internship that lead to employment at Sound Physicians, what advice do you have for up-and-coming Green River students who are preparing to search for that first internship?
SC: Let me just say Sounds’ technical team is top notch. Very Lean and Agile. I was recently offered a position as an Applications Support Analyst, and I consider it an extension of my internship in some ways. It offers me the ability to cross-train in various technologies and departments. A little bit of database administration, quality assurance, project management (in small bites), business intelligence, and an introduction to Salesforce (a very lucrative and in-demand service if one is trained with it).
As for tips for students: first, soft skills. I hate that term, because it makes communicating well with others sound so easy, but it is a necessary life skill that students don’t always see as THE thing. The ability to communicate my strengths and even my technical weaknesses in a light that showed that I was an intelligent and resourceful question-asker was how I got my internship. You have to present the best version of yourself to your future employer. Employers know you know nothing. What they want to know is how you will deal with the fact that you know nothing and are asked to accomplish tasks that you’ve never encountered.
Also, know yourself. I got in the door during my phone interview for Sound Physicians because I could directly relate my previous work and life experiences to the company I was interviewing for. Research the company and job you are interviewing for BEFORE you even submit your resume. Then tailor your resume to highlight how your experience is a match.
Thanks for reading!
Green River College was named Time Magazine’s Most Diversified College of 2015, and as a public community college at the heart of Seattle-Tacoma, our bachelor’s degree in software development is doing amazing work preparing students like Sophie for technical jobs throughout the region. Find the latest stories about our program and students by visiting our Green River Web & Mobile Developer Blog, here on Medium.
Mark your calendars and start planning now for next year’s Grace Hopper Celebration!
George R. Brown Convention Center, Houston, TX
September 26–28, 2018
#GHC18
