Join our first London Geekettes event for 2017!
Identifying the best ladies for the role has been challenging, as we received many applications from fascinating women out there! Marily & Claire have carefully worked on on-boarding 3 new amazing women, that will keep expanding the strong Geekettes community!
The London Geekettes originally launched in 2014 - they have received sponsorship from various companies, among others, Facebook London and Google and they've held ~15 very successful events. Using Marily & Claire's words: "We are community-led, meaning that we tend to run events that are suggested by the community - the events' themes vary from entrepreneurship, technical skills workshops lead by engineers working for large tech companies to even hackathons for children!".
Marily Nika will be an advisor to our new ambassadors, as she is now based in San Francisco on an assignment.
Without any further ado, meet the new ambassadors!
Yulia Bulgakova
What is your background?
Hi, I am Yulia. I currently work as a Software Engineer.
What inspired you to become a software developer?
I enjoyed programming since I was a kid and after finishing school decided to pursue a degree in Computing, which eventually led to my career in software engineering.
Why did you to become a Geekettes ambassador?
Being a female software engineer, I never got to work in a company that has another female engineer in my team, so I experienced first hand how underrepresented women in tech are which made me want to help Geekettes out on its mission. :)
Tell a fun fact about yourself
I have a cat called Pixel.
Do you have any advice for women interested in tech?
Go for it!
Joanna Diep
What is your background?
Hi I’m Joanna and I’m currently a software developer at a startup.
What inspired you to become a software developer?
I really enjoyed studying Computing at university and I like the challenges involved. I decided to take my skills further and started a career in software development.
Why did you to become a Geekettes ambassador?
During university and my time working in the industry, I’ve noticed an underrepresentation of women in technology. I want to try and help women access the resources needed to build a successful career and increase their interest in technology - hopefully getting towards an even split of men and women in tech!
Tell a fun fact about yourself
One of my hobbies is rifle shooting.
Do you have any advice for women interested in tech?
Stay positive and keep working hard, but have fun too!
Claudia Mihai
What is your background?
I’m Claudia, and I’m also a software engineer!
What inspired you to become a software developer?
Several things led to it. One, I’ve loved being in the general area of computers since my first PC at age 4. Two, my interest in AI based on my interest in sci-fi. Three, a wonderful professor back in high school, who knew how to transfer her passion for programming to her students. And four, I get to create things, make devices do things for me, and use several weird looking languages to do this; I couldn’t ask for more.
Why did you to become a Geekettes ambassador?
I’ve attended some women in technology events over the past few years, and I find the issues interesting and the community wonderful. I wanted to contribute to that as well as help other women start on or continue their path in technology! It’s an amazing field, and it would only develop better and faster if there was more diversity within it.
Tell a fun fact about yourself.
I get to work at the MCM London Comic Con - twice in a row so far, and I plan to keep it going.
Do you have any advice for women interested in tech?
Don’t be afraid to try it out; the guys obviously aren’t. And if you’re afraid you might fail, I can’t put it better than it was said at the Grace Hopper Celebration in London: “There are some incredible benefits to failing horribly.”
Now that we’ve taken over this post, we’re SO excited to announce our first event and further expand the London Geekettes community!
We will see you at: 6.30pm Wednesday, 20th of March, Pavilion End, 23 Watling Street, London EC4M 9BR
Our first event of 2017 is coming up on the 20th of March! The London Geekettes took some time off, so we’re kicking the year off with an informal team building event of sorts. We’ll start with a social icebreaker, and move on to a moderated discussion with suggestions on the Geekettes’ activity. Throughout the event, we wish to see what our existing members want out of Geekettes London this year. After all, we are a community first, and we want to involve everyone in setting our focus from here on!
