CWRU Women in Tech Initiative hosted an engaging end-of-the-school-year alumni panel session with four distinguished CWRU WIT alumni鈥擩essica Fitch, Brianna Lemon, Allison Hess-Dunning, and Ana Scalamandre鈥攚ho shared advice and valuable insights in the tech world. The panelists' expertise in the technology field presents a unique collection of experiences, which they discussed during the event. The speakers touched on the topics ranging from the value of college to work-life balance and the skills they discovered to be beneficial to their current roles.
Panelists
Jessica Fitch鈥擲taff Engineer and Tech Lead Manager at Google
Brianna Lemon鈥擣ull-stack Software Engineer at JP Morgan Chase
Allison Hess-Dunning鈥擱esearch Investigator at Department of Veterans Affairs; Adjunct Assistant Professor at CWRU
Ana Scalamandre鈥擧ardware Engineer at Google
Panel Discussion
Evren Gurkan-Cavusoglu, Faculty Director for CWRU Women in Tech Initiative, opened the session by giving a warm welcome to guests and panel speakers. She thanked Craig Newmark and Craig Newmark Philanthropies for making the event possible. "It's his gift that actually started this initiative and it keeps it going," she stated.
Following her words, Chris Zorman, Associate Dean for Research at Case School of Engineering, delivered the opening remarks. "As you know, the School of Engineering values at the highest level diversity, equity, inclusion, representation鈥攁ll the things that make engineering in today's modern world way better than it was," he said.
Just before the start of the panel discussion, Craig Newmark delivered a virtual speech to the audience as he gave remarks to CWRU WIT students and discussed important soft skills in the tech industry.
During the panel, the speakers gave overviews of their own professional career paths and offered advice and insights into what goes into being a woman in tech. Given the diverse backgrounds and career paths of the panelists, they were able to give a wide array of expertise.
When asked what they wished they knew while they were in college, Allison Hess-Dunning replied: "I think this is a really good time to explore your interests in terms of where you might want to work, what fields you might want to be in, because you might be an electrical engineer or a computer scientist, but that's still really broad. So it's a good time to find out how you're going to apply your knowledge and look into that a little more and don't pigeonhole yourself."
Ana Scalamandre stressed the importance of attending career fairs, talking to professors, and building a support network. "That's something I wish I have done more鈥攇oing to career fairs and learning more about different companies, if you choose that route," she said.
Jessica Fitch encouraged students to surround themselves with supportive people: "No matter what happens, there's going to be some rocky parts in life. And being able to have people who have your back can help support you through whatever those challenges are. That's how you get through them."
Panelists also discussed the skills that are important to succeed in various tech roles. Brianna Lemon emphasized the ability to communicate clearly: "Communication is such a big piece because in this new work lifestyle that we have where there's a lot of hybrid or remote work, they're not sitting right next to you watching your every move. So you have to be able to communicate." Jessica Fitch added that communication isn't just about presenting outward; it's about listening and being able to absorb what is coming your way. "Organizational intelligence鈥攂eing able to navigate the organizations around you and emotional intelligence, possibly underrated in the tech industry, not something that tends to be taught in your coursework鈥攔eally helps a lot of situations," she stated.
All four panelists encouraged students to speak up and advocate for themselves.
Audience members had plenty of questions for the speakers ranging from internship opportunities to work culture. "Culture is two things," Brianna Lemon noted. "It's not only just the company, but also the team. Because the whole culture of the company can be great. You can get along with people you see down the hallway and everything, and then your team culture could be the most toxic thing you've ever been on. I have a great inclusive team culture, and I think that's it. It's collaborative, it's inclusive. People are willing to stop what they're doing and help people."
The panel was followed by a networking event that allowed for attendees to interact with alumni speakers and discover the variety of opportunities connected to the tech industry.
The Women in Tech Initiative at CWRU has been fully funded by Craig Newmark Philanthropies and spearheaded by Evren Gurkan-Cavusoglu, PhD.