To lead or not to lead.

About a year ago, I was elected to be on the committee of the Women In Computer Science Society at UCT. Last Wednesday, I oversaw the election of the next committee. This post is about what happened in between.

I was once talking to a potential sponsor and he asked, 'Why this society? As a student, it must take a lot of your time, It must mean a lot to you.' My response was and still is, 'yes it does'. I have written a lot about why we have few women in technology and why we we need to more to solve the problem. I have experienced first hand being what its like to be one of two girls in the class, or the only female developer in an office, or to be told I should be study something suitable for girls like Commerce and the list goes on. Its definitely not fun and is a big contributor to Impostor Syndrome. After going to Grace Hopper 2014 and seeing how much it is a global problem, I decided to be part of the solution. Now that we have covered the whys, lets get to the hows.

I was promoted to Chair Person after the previous Chair Person resigned. I can definitely tell you that I wasn't ready. Leading a society requires a lot of time, commitment and sometimes experience, especially because it was a young society that had just been reinstated as an official society. There was no alternative so I took up the challenge. Gradually the society, became my baby. I found myself using a lot of my time sending emails, writing announcements, thinking, organizing and planning. I was always thinking of what I could have done better or differently.It sometimes felt like a job that I wasn't getting paid for. Now I realize the immaterial rewards far outweigh the material ones.

Over the course of the year, I have had the platform to implement whatever crazy ideas I had, I have connected with lots of interesting people from members to sponsors and supporters,I have received feedback from members about how happy the society makes them feel, (Damn I live for those emails), I have received good feedback from the Department of Computer Science, I have learnt the art of fundraising and following up. I haven't saved the world yet but leading  helped me as much as the community.
If you are a student considering getting involved on campus, my advice is 'Go for it, and have fun while at it'. It is true that it will take a lot of your time, (time that you are now wasting on social media by the way), but its a good use of your time if personal growth is your priority. Happy leading!

For updates on the society like us on facebook or visit our website.
Have a great weekend!

What you missed out on .. #AndroidCamp2016

I was in London last week for Google Android Camp which ran from 1st to 5th August at the Google London office. Participants are invited based on merit.(I'm not sure how much merit I have but I'm grateful I made it). During the camp we learnt to develop Android apps and in teams we developed apps over a 24 hour hackathon. I proposed an app idea and was assigned to team mates from Croatia, Israel and Poland. 

The curriculum

My team

       

In one week we went from beginner/novice to expert, thanks to Ran, our instructor. We learnt about UI, Design, Recycle View, Background Execution, Network Operation, Firebase , Animations... all the necessities you need to develop a functional app. The workshops were self paced which I really liked. Between the sessions we also had talks from Googlers such as Andrei Popescu, Android director and David Singleton, VP of Engineering. It was eye opening to hear from the team working on Android on where it headed.We also had a career panels where Googlers shared their journey to Google and an interview workshop which was really helpful.

The hackathon

From Thursday afternoon to Friday afternoon we had a 24 hour hackathon where we developed apps from our suggested ideas. Unfortunately I was sick with headache and fever hence I couldn't stay up all night. But we were a strong team and we managed to create a functional proof of concept. 

That face after the hackathon

The perks

Just like in the movie, Google really spoils its employees and in this case guests. First off, they welcomed us with Nexus tablets to keep (that's right). As if that's not enough they gave us the 6th  edition of the book Cracking the Coding Interview. 

 Of course, they showered us with swag and fancy food from different places.

Dinner

Android Umbrella

 This is all on top of an all expenses paid trip , Thanks Google!

Google office

If you are interested in my London adventures go here. Have a great week ahead!