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Northeastern University’s Khoury College of Computer Sciences hosted the Women of the Cloud College Tour on Tuesday, with representatives from Amazon Web Services, industry partners and students.
Northeastern University recently welcomed representatives of Amazon Web Services (AWS) for a Women of the Cloud College Tour event on the Boston campus.
The event brought together representatives from Amazon’s cloud and industry partners with students from the Khoury College of Computer Sciences.
The event, which was geared toward female and nonbinary students, was kicked off by Elizabeth Mynatt, the dean of Khoury College, with a welcome that highlighted how the college’s aims align with the event.
“Our vision and mission,” she said, “is computer science for everyone.”
Mynatt recalled how impressed she was with Northeastern graduates she met at her past two commencements.
“Because of experiential learning,” she said, “because of how they engaged with companies such as Amazon, AWS and others, not only did they have their job, but they knew why and where they were going.”
“Engagement with industry is fundamentally important and integral to our DNA at Northeastern,” Mynatt said.
Deirdre Toner, director of the Worldwide Specialist Organization at AWS, served as master of ceremonies for the event.
“One of the things I get to do is to speak to women about women in tech,” she said. “And one of the things that we talk about when we’re together is how to advance careers. What kind of barriers do you have in your career today? What are the current issues?”
Toner pointed to the Women of the Cloud College Tour as a prime example of one way to welcome women and others from historically marginalized backgrounds into their careers in tech.
The Women of the Cloud College Tour will travel to five college campuses, but Northeastern University served as the pilot location at a preliminary event in June.
The event on Tuesday was the largest in AWS’ cross-country tour so far. Students will be able to maintain their engagement with AWS throughout the year at a string of additional events, both virtual and in person.
The last event of the year, Toner said, will “be a celebration indicating who got internships or different jobs. So this will be great to see how this whole journey has come together and delivered something meaningful.”
In a fireside keynote discussion, Christina Kosmowski, the CEO of LogicMonitor, encouraged students to guide their careers by their passions.
“Start with your passion. It does not matter what anyone tells you you should be doing, it does not matter what you think you should be doing. Doesn’t matter that the world is saying ‘This is the hot thing.’ If you’re not passionate about it,” she concluded, “you’re not going to be successful, it’s not going to work.”
Other events Tuesday included a talk by performance coach Andrea Wise, panels and a round of networking tables with industry attendees.
In her opening remarks, Mynatt also pointed out how the Women of the Cloud College Tour matched the intent behind Khoury College’s successful Align program, which “is a graduate program for students who got anything but an undergraduate in computer science to then pivot into a high-tech career,” she said.
In any given year, Mynatt continued, more than 50% of Align is comprised of women.
“I have met lawyers, doctors, designers, really people from all stripes of life and all stripes of background, who are not looking to replace what they know with computer science, but to add to it.”
And when it comes to hiring Align graduates, she said, “I do have to call out AWS as our favorite partner.”