Spotlight: Senior Software Engineers Ashley Romualdo and Melanie Moy
Our engineers talk about the Grace Hopper Celebration and women in tech
The Grace Hopper Celebration is the world’s largest gathering of women technologists. This year, 22,000 women in tech gathered in Houston, TX for #GHC18 to learn from inspirational leaders in technology. Our Senior Software Engineers Ashley Romualdo and Melanie Moy had a great time attending, and we sat down with them to talk about the conference, their careers and contributions to our team, and how women can empower more women to work in engineering.
What are some key insights you took from attending the Grace Hopper Celebration?
Ashley: “That we should have more conferences like this. I’ve been to technical conferences, but none had the impact on me that this one had. Career, soft skills, working in teams, asking for promotions, what career path to take, how to manage time, it’s all so important and something I don’t think is addressed enough in the technical field.”
Melanie: “1.) We are losing women in tech at various stages of the funnel (in school, in hiring, after several years in industry).There are solutions at all of these stages, we just need to implement them. 2.) Certain personality traits are disproportionately held by women (such as perfectionism or self-doubt), and these personality traits can be detrimental to career growth. Fortunately, there are policy changes that can help address some of these challenges.There are also personal changes that individuals can make if they are aware of the negative consequences that these traits can have.”
Do you have a favorite quote, keynote speaker, or key takeaway?
Melanie: “Self-doubt and lack of self-confidence keeps people from trying new things, but you ‘miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.’”
Ashley: “I was trying to take down some favorite quotes, but I couldn’t type fast enough to get them all. They had some amazing speakers.”
“Women, especially, tend to be perfectionists and skip opportunities until they know they can meet every requirement and check every box, but we don’t have to be perfect. We just have to be confident that we can learn and are capable, even if we don’t know everything ahead of time. This ties in well with not being afraid of failure.”
“It’s about progress, not perfection.” — Regina Kunkle
Why do you think these conferences are valuable for women in tech?
Melanie: “It’s a great opportunity to find a large group of people who struggle with the same issues that I struggle with. When working in an industry that is dominated by men, it can be very challenging to find someone that identifies or has experienced the same hurdles that you have. It is also inspiring to meet and speak with women leaders that have overcome the barriers that you’ve faced.”
Ashley: “For one I think it’s wonderful just to be reminded that there are others out there! I felt so at home surrounded by other female software engineers with the same challenges and stories as me. It was really inspiring. I also think it’s a great way to bring attention to the statistics — that women and minorities are still underrepresented in tech and to talk about what we can do to change that.”
Is working in engineering something you always wanted to do?
Ashley: “No, I wanted to be a vet. Then in high school, I wanted to be a neurosurgeon. Luckily, my high school had an amazing program where you could spend time at hospitals and shadow doctors and surgeons to learn what the day to day is like. It wasn’t for me for so many reasons. I also ended up taking a web development course in high school that I enjoyed, so I looked into the computer science program. Once I started my first programming course I knew this was what I wanted to do.”
Melanie: “Yes, I guess? I have always been a logical problem solver. Even though there are a lot of professions where logical problem solving skills are useful, engineering is the most common career for someone with those skills.”
What do you love most about it?
Ashley: “It’s challenging and rewarding. There’s nothing like having someone hand you a problem, thinking through for not just a solution, but the right solution. Then getting the almost immediate satisfaction of watching it work.”
Melanie: “I get to solve interesting problems, and I get to work with smart people who make me a smarter person, a better communicator, and a stronger teacher every day.”
What unique experience/qualities do you bring to our team?
Ashley: “Probably tenacity, which luckily isn’t a quality unique to me on the team. Always wanting to not just understand that something works, but how and why it works.”
Melanie: “I’ve received consistent feedback that I’m easy to talk to and that people feel comfortable opening up to me. I don’t know what kind of magic makes this happen, but I feel very privileged to be able to help people work through their problems. This line of open communication helps us resolve issues and bring awareness to problems before they fester.”
Why should more women get into software engineering?
Melanie: “If there’s anything I’ve learned from going to the Grace Hopper Conference, the problem isn’t that there aren’t enough women interested in software engineering. It’s that too many of those women are scared away from it. So, my advice to them would be:
“Don’t allow your fear and self-doubt keep you from doing what you enjoy. Software engineering is as rewarding as you think it will be and not as hard as everyone makes it out to be.”
Ashley: “The same reason men get into software engineering. It’s an in-demand field, it pays well, and it’s intellectually stimulating. I don’t think you need anymore reason than that.”
