GHC Thoughts
I was fortunate enough to go to the annual Grace Hopper Celebration-- the world's largest gathering of women technologists. Here are some random thoughts I had throughout my experience:
On travelling:
Travelling can be pretty annoying. Planning an itinerary, packing the right amount of stuff, waiting in line, standing at the airport, sitting in a plane--and as someone with absurdly long legs, airplanes are an extra pain.
However, this time was definitely slightly better. It was a different experience travelling with a big group of girls my age. I’ve never been on, say, a travelling sports team, or something of the like, so this was a first time thing for me. There’s a nice sense of comradery as we slug through bag claim, navigating the airport and planning rides together.
On travelling:
Travelling can be pretty annoying. Planning an itinerary, packing the right amount of stuff, waiting in line, standing at the airport, sitting in a plane--and as someone with absurdly long legs, airplanes are an extra pain.
However, this time was definitely slightly better. It was a different experience travelling with a big group of girls my age. I’ve never been on, say, a travelling sports team, or something of the like, so this was a first time thing for me. There’s a nice sense of comradery as we slug through bag claim, navigating the airport and planning rides together.
On Wifi:
Our hotel did not have wifi (it also had a few critters and crawlies around, but that’s a different story), but I couldn’t really complain since I was lucky enough to have my school pay for my stay anyways. I will note that for future reference, it may be worth it to invest in some kind of Mobile Wifi hotspot. There’s just so much to do online--whether it be confirming travel details, connecting with that new person you met at a speaker event, looking up event and activity details, or trying to cram in the work you are missing by attending the conference. Not having easily accessible wifi will greatly hinder productivity.
On meeting people both new and old:
I met a lot of new amazing women at Grace Hopper, but I surprisingly also met a few people I knew from high school. Since I moved across the country for college, I don’t get to see my west coast friends very often, so it was nice to reconnect.
Pieces of advice that stuck with me:
The closing Keynote speaker, Dr. Vivienne Ming gave a speech about courage that I really liked.
This was just a little nugget of advice from Professor Anna Gommerstadt that I thought was kind of funny.
Final Thoughts:
If you are thinking of attending--I highly recommend it. There's tons of information online about Grace Hopper on everything from companies attending to what to pack.
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