Community Celebrates Outstanding Achievement of 57 Young Women Pursuing Technology

SOUTHFIELD, June 28, 2023 – Forty-five scholarship recipients and three teams of girls who won the Girls Solve IT challenge gathered along with their enthusiastic supporters to commemorate their technology skills and promising paths ahead. The recent ceremony, hosted by the Michigan Council of Women in Technology Foundation on June 14, served as an inspiring showcase, shining a spotlight on the next generation’s instrumental role in bridging the gender disparity gap within the technology field. 

Each year, MCWT offers scholarships to help students alleviate the financial burdens associated with higher education, awarding them to women with the interest, talent and potential for thriving in technology careers. These women will pursue degrees that will prepare them for future careers in areas such as computer science, artificial intelligence, data science engineering, cyber security and software engineering. Since 2002, MCWT has awarded $1.7 million in scholarships to empower 361 women. 

MCWT’s 2023 Girls Solve IT competition, sponsored by Ford Motor Co., is an interactive, statewide robotics competition for girls in grades 4-8 to complete technology quests for the chance to win cash prizes and awards. The 2023 winning teams included:   

– 1st Place – Team Saline E-Bots: Layla Aideeb, Quinn Myers, Alisha Sachdeva, Julia Straw with coaches Chris and Julia Myers from Saline, Michigan 

– 2nd Place – Team JAES: Tzong-Wen Cheng, Emily Ku, Sophie Lai, Josephine Lin, Anna Liu with coach Fang Wu from Ann Arbor, Michigan 

– 3rd Place – Team Coral Captains: Sara Haaseth, Mara Laibly, Elizabeth Linton with coach Rebecca Linton from Brighton, Michigan 

The recognition ceremony gathered over 100 virtual and in-person attendees at Mercedes-Benz Financial Services Building in Farmington Hills. The MCWT Scholarship and Girls Solve-IT award ceremony are done jointly to show the younger girls what their journey in tech will look like when they become an MCWT scholar and gain support from tech leaders in the industry. 

During the event, Jill Maiorano, President of MCWT spoke to the award recipients and their family members and stated, “We must eliminate any negative self-talk in our heads and continue to believe in ourselves. Remember YOU CAN DO IT!, if you need help use the powerful MCWT community, we are here for you” 

Naamna Modi, returning scholarship recipient and student at Michigan State University also provided remarks, reinforcing the importance of community and encouraging the other young women to embrace the journey of being a woman in tech.   

“Being a woman in tech seems lonely at first, but when you join organizations like MCWT, you gain a new community,” Modi said. “When you get involved for community, you’re no longer alone and that’s the power of being a woman in tech.”  

Businesses have a stake in the importance of cultivating a robust talent pipeline in the technology industry, as evidenced by their valuable sponsorship of this year’s MCWT scholarship program. Demonstrating their commitment, many employees from these companies generously volunteer their time and expertise to assist MCWT in managing the program and providing mentorship to young women as they embark on their educational journey in the tech field. These sponsoring companies include Ally, Amerisure, BorgWarner, Comerica Women in Tech, Consumers Energy, Corewell Health, Dow, Flagstar Bank, Ford Motor Company, Intel, Little Caesars, Victoria “Katie” Sweet Memorial Fund, Masco, NTT Managed Services, Red Hat, SIM Detroit, Thirdware, X by 2 and Yazaki.   

The Michigan Council of Women in Technology Foundation strives to inspire and grow girls and women in technology fields, with a vision to make Michigan the No. 1 state for women in technology. The organization supports Michigan’s female IT workforce, students, corporate partners, schools and the overall community with networking, learning, mentoring, and technology experiences for professionals and students. Find more information at www.mcwt.org and connect via Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and YouTube. 

Editor’s note: Scholarship recipient list is below. 

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2023 MCWT Scholarship Recipients 

Each recipient is paired with a mentor who meets throughout the year with the scholar to support her as she navigates her academic years. MCWT’s 2023 scholarship recipients, representing 11 colleges and universities throughout Michigan, include: 

– Ally Scholarship: Natalie Hilliker (Belmont) 

– Amerisure Scholarship: Alexandria Balde (Bloomfield Twp.), Olivia Klevorn (Ludington), Nina Moyski (Northville), Hafsa Sultana (Farmington Hills), 

– Borg Warner Scholarship: Madison Connell (Commerce Township), Gurnoor Kaur (Macomb) 

– Comerica Scholarship: Brooklyn Beachy (Pigeon), Rehab Jadallah (Dearborn), Evelyn Ortiz-Martinez (Kalamazoo), Campbell Robertson (Traverse City) 

– Consumers Energy Scholarship: Alexis Bliesener (Mason), Riley Burns (Hartland), Hajirah Nadeem (Ypsilanti), Poulami Sau (Canton), Samantha Scott (Iron Mountain) 

– Corewell Health Scholarship: Jordan Doyle (Troy) 

– Dow Scholarship: Ashley Siegmund (Midland), Camryn Toth (Midland)   

– Flagstar Bank Scholarship: Evelyn Bender (Alpena), Lena Elkoussy (Dearborn), Naamna Modi (Canton), Annika Price (St. Joseph), Praseedha Vinukonda (Canton) 

– Intel Scholarship: Regan McDonald (Grosse Pointe Farms) 

– Little Caesars Scholarship: Julia Tauro (Novi) 

– MASCO Scholarship: Leiya Rybicki (Freeland), Alyssa Taylor (Roscommon), Sumedha Vadlapudi (Novi)  

– NTT Managed Services Scholarship: Aishwarya Arvind (Troy), Christine Zeng (Sterling Heights) 

– Red Hat Scholarship: Hillary Luan (Northville) 

– SIM Detroit Scholarship: Arsha Ali (Troy), Brittany Clark (Shelby Twp.), Mia Cusenza (Grandville), Rachel Loren (Eaton Rapids), Vedika Narla (Canton), Elisabeth Zubal (Hamlin Twp.) 

– Thirdware Scholarship: Jessica Messing (Freeland) 

– X by 2 Scholarship: Lydia Powers (Swartz Creek) 

– Yazaki Scholarship: Poulami Dey (Troy), Aarushi Singh (Canton), Lydia Valtadoros (Ann Arbor) 

– Victoria “Katie” Sweet Memorial Scholarship: Brenna Kark (White Lake Township)   

– Riya Bhakkad Memorial Scholarship: Kajal Modi (Canton)