Four Wyoming High School Female Students Honored with NCWIT Awards

As part of an effort to encourage more young women to choose careers in technology, the National Center for Women and Information Technology (NCWIT) and the NCWIT Wyoming affiliate community recently recognized four high school female students and one Wyoming educator for their accomplishments and aspirations in computing and technology.

The 2017 Wyoming award winners are:

Winner -- Kyra Smith, Kelly Walsh High School, Casper.

Honorable mention -- Victoria Bailey, Kelly Walsh High School, Casper.

Honorable mention -- Hattie Pimentel, Powell High School.

Honorable mention -- Shianne Yarrington, Hot Springs County High School, Thermopolis.

Educator Award -- London Jenks, Hot Springs County School District, Thermopolis.

The group was honored at the Wyoming Affiliate Aspirations Award Ceremony, held in conjunction with the University of Wyoming’s OwnIt! Awards ceremony April 18 in the Michael B. Enzi STEM Facility’s education laboratory atrium at UW.

The NCWIT Award for Aspirations in Computing is a program of the National Center for Women and Information Technology, a coalition of more than 650 universities, corporations and organizations dedicated to increasing the meaningful participation of women in computing. The NCWIT Award for Aspirations in Computing was created to acknowledge the computing aspirations of young women; introduce them to leadership opportunities in the field; and generate visibility for women’s participation in computing-related pursuits.

Award winners were selected for their outstanding aptitude and interest in computing, and their desire to pursue computing-related studies or occupations. The NCWIT Aspirations in Computing program is supported by lifetime sponsor Apple; national sponsors AT&T, Bank of America, Bloomberg, Google, HP Enterprise, Intel, Qualcomm and Microsoft; and additional support from Motorola Solutions Foundation, Northrop Grumman and Symantec.

The Wyoming Affiliate of the NCWIT Award for Aspirations in Computing is a collaborative effort by dedicated volunteers from UW and Western Wyoming Community College.

NCWIT’s work leverages programs from organizations across the country and connects efforts to increase women's participation in information technology along the entire pipeline, from K-12 and higher education through industry and academic careers. To learn more, go to www.ncwit.org.