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Academic Calendar

Honors Convocation

Honors Convocation
Friday, May 10, 2019
10 a.m.
Greater Mt. Zion Church
4301 Tannehill Lane
Austin, Texas 78721

Honors Day Convocation, recognizing students who have earned high academic honors.

 

Black Girls CODE Founder and CEO to Speak During the Honors Convocation

Bryant is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Black Girls CODE, a non-profit organization dedicated to “changing the face of technology” by introducing girls of color (ages 7-17) to the field of technology and computer science with a concentration on entrepreneurial concepts.

Prior to starting Black Girls CODE, Bryant enjoyed a successful 20+year professional career in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries as an Engineering Manager in a series of technical leadership roles for various Fortune 50 companies such as Genentech, Merck, and Pfizer. Since 2011 Bryant has helped Black Girls CODE grow from a local grassroots initiative serving only the Bay Area, to an international organization with fourteen chapters across the United States and in Johannesburg, South Africa. Black Girls CODE has currently reached over 7,000 students and continues to grow and thrive.

Bryant has been nationally recognized as a thought leader for her work to increase opportunities for women and girls in the technology industry and has received numerous awards for her work with Black Girls CODE. Bryant has been awarded the prestigious Jefferson Award for Community Service for her work to support communities in the Bay Area, named by Business Insider on its list of “The 25 Most Influential African-Americans in Technology”, and named to The Root 100 and the Ebony Power 100 lists in 2013. Bryant was named a White House as a Champion of Change for her work in tech inclusion and for her focus on bridging the digital divide for girls of color and received an Ingenuity Award in Social Progress from the Smithsonian Institute. She has been identified as a thought leader in the area of tech inclusion and has spoken on the topic at conferences nationally and internationally such as the Personal Democracy Forum, TedX Kansas City, Platform Summit, Big Ideas Festival, South By Southwest (SXSW), and many others.

Being “an advocate for children” and “agent for positive change,” you can understand the need for a place that provides a nurturing environment for girls of color who want to develop their interest in the digital world. Today, only 2% of all programmers are women of color. Black Girls Code is dedicated to changing that statistic. By 2020, it is estimated that there will be 1.4 million jobs available in computing. Our target is to train 1 million girls by 2050, so that they will have the skills they need to occupy some of these positions. We want our girls to become the girl scouts of technology!

Black Girls Code strives to introduce the world of programming and coding to an upcoming generation of youth who will become the future of the technology and scientific industries. We want to provide that start for girls to reach their dreams in science and technology. Our goal is to empower young girls to embrace opportunities with confidence while teaching them the skills they need to become innovators, problem-solvers, and leaders.

Bryant earned a B.E. in Electrical Engineering major/Mathemathics with a Computer Science minor from Vanderbilt University.