Blake Marquardt, a senior at East High School in Cheyenne, is one of five recipients
from Wyoming to receive the NWCIT Computing Award.
Cheyenne’s Blake Marquardt is one of five female Wyoming high school students who have been named winners of the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) Award for Aspirations in Computing.
The Wyoming Affiliate Competition winners will be recognized during a luncheon at the University of Wyoming’s Women in Science Conference May 14.
UW and Western Wyoming Community College, affiliates of the NCWIT awards, selected five winners from across Wyoming. Winners were chosen based on their computing-related achievements and interests, solid leadership ability, good academic history and plans for post-secondary education.
“Receiving this award is both rewarding and motivational for me to continue my education and learn more about our technology today,” says Marquardt, a senior at Cheyenne East High School. “Going into college with knowledge about computing will help me through school and into my career.”
She plans to study broadcast journalism and mass communications at Arizona State University this fall.
At East High School, Marquardt is a member of Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA), where spreadsheet applications and electronic career portfolio were her main activity focus. She won the Dan Fenning Media Production and Technology Award, which is awarded to one East High School Student each year and chosen by the school’s faculty. Marquardt has studied computer technology, Internet technology, and media and TV production during high school.
NCWIT is a nonprofit community of more than 300 prominent corporations, academic institutions, government agencies and nonprofits that work to increase women’s participation in technology and computing.
“Encouraging young women’s interest in technology careers is critical,” says Lucy Sanders, CEO and co-founder of NCWIT.
Other Wyoming Affiliate Competition winners, listed with their high schools and hometowns, are:
--Jingyu Li, Laramie High School, Laramie.
--Lia Eggleston, home-schooled, Laramie.
--Rylee Marron, Cody High School, Cody.
--Korina Ike, Hulett High School, Hulett.
The awards for each winner include a trophy, swag bag and a 64 gigabyte USB flash drive pre-loaded with a software development environment, according to Allyson Anderson, a senior lecturer in UW’s Computer Science Department.
The Women in Science Conference is designed to raise young women’s (grades 7-12) interest and excitement in science, technology, math and engineering (STEM) -- career fields typically dominated by men. Accomplished professional women discuss their experiences in these fields.
The conference is hosted by the Wyoming NASA Space Grant Consortium, which sponsors education and research programs in the state of Wyoming to support NASA goals. One of the goals of NASA and UW is to get more women and ethnic minorities involved in educational programs.
For more information about the Women in Science Conference, contact Michele Turner, program coordinator, Wyoming NASA Space Grant Consortium, at (307) 766-2862 or mturner@uwyo.edu
