WITTY WOMEN: YASIRIS
This past academic year, we worked with a cohort of 7 female-identifying students to develop a technical solution for the non-profit organization YearUp! We are so proud of our first cohort and all the work they accomplished, and for the next few weeks, we’ll be featuring these amazing students here on our blog.
This week we are featuring 23-year-old Yasiris Ortiz. Yasiris is a rising junior at the City College of New York in studying Computer Science. She’s our third witty woman to be featured, and we are so excited for you to learn a little bit about her through this post.
Why did you join the wit project?
I joined the wit project because I am always looking for opportunities to improve my technical skills. At that time, I was looking for projects that I could work on as well as collaborate and learn from others.
What has been your favorite part about the volunteer experience? What have you learned from the wit project?
My favorite part about this experience has been the commitment with time and work that each of the students that are part of the program has shown. Also, getting to know more women in technology with the same passion and interest in learning and facing challenges in tech. By working in the wit project I have been able to expand my knowledge in my technical skills and teamwork collaboration. I have a better understanding of how a real application works and what are each of its components. I learned about how important it is to organize, plan, and execute a task in a tech project.
Why is it important to have more women working in tech?
I think that having more women in tech is important because it is a way to support this community. Sometimes women may feel that they are not capable of being professional in tech. So, I think that having a large community would encourage those women that need this kind of support.
What are your goals for the next year? Where do you want to be in 5 years?
I have so many goals. But two of the most important ones are: to keep practicing hard in my sport, table tennis, and qualify for the Olympic Games. Next, it is to keep myself focused on my career as a computer scientist and have the opportunity to apply to software engineer positions in companies like Microsoft, Amazon, or JPMorgan. I will continue participating in hackathons and programs like the wit project which allows me to improve my technical, meet more women in tech, and provide tools to society.
Who’s a #badass technologist you look up to?
Anita Borg because of all the great things she has achieved to help women become successful in technology.
Tell us a fun fact about yourself!
I am vegetarian and I eat SALAMI!