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San Diego, Calif. | Posted: September 30, 2019
Allie McFadden
Communications Officer
allie.mcfadden@cc.gatech.edu
Summary Sentence:
The College of Computing participated in the ACM Richard Tapia Celebration of Diversity in Computing in San Diego, Calif.
Full Summary:
No summary paragraph submitted.
34 computer science undergraduate students and five OMSCS students traveled to San Diego, Calif. to celebrate diversity in computing at the 2019 ACM Richard Tapia Celebration of Diversity in Computing conference.
OMSCS students James Gan, Andy Singh, Manoel Mendez, and Taylor Isom were excited to meet other students in their program and discuss their takeaways from the conference. 
Dean of Computing and John P. Imlay Jr. Chair Charles Isbell participated in the opening fireside chat and moderated a panel on diversifying doctoral programs 
Ph.D. student Lara Martin celebrates her win for best presentation at the doctoral consortium with School of Interactive Computing chair Ayanna Howard and Dean of Computing and John P. Imlay Jr. Chair Charles Isbell.
Assistant Dean of Outreach, Enrollment, and Community Cedric Stallworth and Troy Peace, Educational Outreach Manager hang out with College of Computing students before attending the closing banquet. 
School of Interactive Computing chair Ayanna Howard led a café-style panel about different organizations working to further diversity in tech.
Former Constellations student and first-year Georgia Tech student, Charity "Alistair" Tarver caught up with Constellations communications officer Allie McFadden at the College of Computing booth during the career fair.Georgia Tech’s College of Computing participates annually in the ACM Richard Tapia Celebration of Diversity in Computing, and this year was no exception.
With 34 undergraduate and master’s students, and five online master’s in computer science (OMSCS) students attending, the Yellow Jackets took San Diego by storm.
The conference brought together more than 1,800 faculty, students, industry professionals, and researchers from all backgrounds and ethnicities to discuss and celebrate diversity in computing.
“As a Latina woman, I am very excited to be here and get to know other Latinas who are interested in computing. It’s fun getting to share my passion for diversity with new friends and recruiters,” said Valentina Brambila Grando, a second-year computer science major.
Held September 18-21, the conference focused conversations around its theme, “Diversity: Building A Stronger Future.” Session topics included supporting students with disabilities, broadening participation in computing, and addressing bias and unfairness in artificial intelligence (AI). The three-day conference also gave attendees the opportunity to network and interview at prestigious companies like Google, Cisco, and JP Morgan.
Charity “Alistair” Tarver, who is the first student to graduate from the Constellations Center for Equity in Computing high school program and attend Georgia Tech, was also in attendance.
“I’ve never really gotten to travel before, so it’s cool to come to a new city and hear from people I would have never otherwise had the chance to hear from. It’s been interesting to get different perspectives and find common ground with other students from around the world,” said Tarver.
Georgia Tech leadership, alumni, and current students were involved throughout the conference.
Dean of Computing and John P. Imlay Jr. Chair Charles Isbell helped kick off the conference as a guest for the opening fireside chat where he discussed the evolving methods of disseminating misinformation through deep learning and embedding ethics within the computing curriculum from the start. Isbell also discussed the importance of diversifying doctoral programs during a panel discussion held later in the week.
Other highlights included:
Another big part of the College’s participation at Tapia is hosting a booth. As a platinum sponsor of the conference, the College of Computing hosted a booth with information on the college’s programs for prospective graduate students.
“We love coming to Tapia every year because we want to recruit a diverse group of students for our programs. It’s exciting to see them celebrate who they are and talk with them about what their experience at Georgia Tech could be like,” said Jennifer Whitlow, director of enrollment and alumni engagement.
For more photos, view the Flickr album.
