About Bank of AmericaBank of America is one of the world’s largest financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small- and middle-market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk management products and services. The company provides unmatched convenience in the United States, serving approximately 53 million consumer and small business relationships with more than 6,100 retail banking offices, more than 18,500 ATMs and award-winning online banking with nearly 29 million active users. Bank of America is among the world’s

leading wealth management companies and is a global leader in corporate and investment banking and trading across a broad range of asset classes serving corporations, governments, institutions and individuals around the world. Bank of America offers industry-leading support to more than 4 million small business owners through a suite of innovative, easy-to-use online products and services. The company serves clients in more than 150 countries. Bank of America Corporation stock (NYSE: BAC) is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

About the Award | www.ncwit.org/awardThe NCWIT Award for Aspirations in Computing recognizes young women at the high-school level for their computing-related achievements and interests. Awardees are selected for their demonstrated outstanding aptitude and interest in information technology/computing; solid leadership ability; good academic history; and plans for post-secondary education. Founded in 2007, the NCWIT Award for Aspirations in Computing has grown to a combined National and Affiliate program, drawing interest from thousands of young women from across the United States.

The 2010 National Award-winners were selected from an outstanding pool of 700 applicants representing 49 US states and Puerto Rico. These 32 impressive young women represent 18 US states, attend private, public and home-school institutions, and come from big cities, suburban communities, and rural America. We welcome them as alumni of the NCWIT Award for Aspirations in Computing and look forward to the new technologies and advances that will emerge from these talented young women.

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About the National Center for Women & Information TechnologyNCWIT is the National Center for Women and Information Technology, a non-profit coalition of over 200 prominent corporations, academic institutions, government agencies, and non-profits working to improve U.S. innovation, competitiveness, and workforce sustainability by increasing women’s participation in IT. We believe that inspiring more women to choose IT careers will create a larger and more competitive workforce, and will foster the design of technology that is as broad and creative as the

population it serves. NCWIT’s work spans K-12 and higher education through industry, academic and entrepreneurial careers. Find out more at www.ncwit.org.

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Letter from Bank of America

Bank of America is proud to be the national sponsor of the National Center for

Women & Information Technology Award for Aspirations in Computing.

On behalf of our company and our 283,000 employees worldwide, I want to

congratulate this year’s talented award-winners who have been selected for their

exceptional accomplishments in computing as well as for their leadership ability,

academic history, plans for post-secondary education and potential to make a

valuable contribution to the field of information technology.

Technology skills are growing in demand, and yet women are vastly underrepresented

in this field. For the good of our economy and competitiveness in innovation, it is

essential that we encourage young women to pursue careers in technology and

provide them with the opportunities and mentoring to be successful.

Bank of America has earned national recognition as an employer of choice for professional women and people of

all backgrounds. We strive to make our workplace an inclusive meritocracy that rewards employees for working

comfortably among different perspectives. We believe this variety of perspectives creates a competitive advantage for

our business. It helps us to develop more innovative products and services for our diverse base of customers, and it

helps us to maintain a more interesting and satisfying workplace environment for all of our associates.

We are pleased to have the opportunity to recognize such a promising group of young women. I encourage each award

winner to continue her education in computing and to pursue a career in technology. The field of IT will be richer

for it.

Congratulations and best wishes,

Cathy Bessant Global Technology & Operations Executive

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2010 Winners

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Alexa is in a special four-year program at her high school that prepares students for careers in forensics or medical technology. She also has participated in Preparing Women for Mathematical Modeling-Robotics at California State University, Stanislaus, and an OpenCourse program at MIT. She puts her skills to use on her school’s robotics team through competitions such as Robofest in Woodland, California. In the future, Alexa hopes to attend a university where she will study to be a research scientist. Her main goal is to develop new equipment and technologies to aid in the search for finding a cure for cancer.

Alexa AdamsModesto, CAJuniorJames C. Enoch High School

Divya is the Project Manager for her school’s robotics team, where her initial interest in technology was sparked. While she has always been interested in programming, the robotics team broadened her perspectives to include the design of future mechanical parts using SolidWorks 3D. She also attended a Summer Designer Seminar where she helped to build a robotic arm using CAD software. Her effort led to her selection for a paid internship with NASA at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. While working for NASA, Divya was involved with IT Support and Security and Asset Management tasks for the engineers in the Mission Operations Directorate.

Divya Arcot Louisville, COSeniorMonarch High School

2010 Winners

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When Louisa watched a humanoid robot perform tasks such as shaking hands and walking on a treadmill, she knew that she wanted to pursue a career in robotics. She is currently creating a robot for the Texas Computer Education Association inventions contest. While participating in Southwest Research Institute’s Young Engineers and Scientists program, Louisa programmed a hex-octal-binary-decimal converter, created a webpage for NASA’s MMS-SMART mission, and learned QBasic and HTML. One of her greatest programming accomplishments so far is creating a Yahtzee game for one of her classes at school. She also is president of the junior associates of the San Antonio Conservation Society.

Louisa Avellar San Antonio, TXSeniorAlamo Heights High School

The clear connection to mathematics is what first drew Allison to programming. Having first learned HTML through a summer camp, she went on to learn Javascript, CSS, basic PHP, C++, and Flash. She applied her knowledge to create a Flash-based program that promoted the basic subjects in school — math, english, science, and history — a project that qualified her as a finalist in the Invention Convention competition. Through a summer program, Allison visited Microsoft in Redmond, Washington, where she took classes, toured the facility, and shadowed an employee. As an active member of the Girl Scouts, Allison has encouraged younger girls to pursue careers in technology.

Allison Arnold-Roksandich Allen, TXSeniorTexas Academy of Math and Science

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Alyssa has taken many computing courses and has become certified in several Cisco programs through her Computer Science/Technology Academy. She has participated in many American Computer Science League competitions and won a national award in the 2007 Oracle Academy Data Modeling Competition. Alyssa has used her leadership skills to help found groups such as CompSciFamilies, which hosts regular events with guest speakers from the computer science and technology fields; and Computer Science Students Day, which is a breakfast mentoring event for students interested in learning about academic and professional opportunities in computing.

Alyssa BanksEnglewood, NJSeniorBergen County Academies

Monica’s interest in robotics and programming has led to many opportunities. She has been involved in work with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and Scalable Networks Technologies. At JPL Monica was involved with the SpaceSHIP program where she helped design a part for the Mars Space Laboratory. At school, Monica has been involved with the robotics team, computer science club, and a rocketry team. The rocketry team was even given the opportunity to participate in NASA’s Student Launch Initiative Program. In the future, Monica hopes to attend MIT, majoring in computer science and aerospace engineering. She plans one day to work for either NASA or JPL.

Monica ChenTarzana, CASeniorHarvard-Westlake School

2010 Winners

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Jane enjoys computer science because of its practicality and how it applies to engineering and business. While working as a summer intern at Cooper Union College, Jane helped to design a robot that was able to follow a black line on a white surface. Jane has participated in the MIT Splash! Weekend, the Columbia University Science Honors Program, and her school’s robotics team programming division, where she learned C and C++. She is the founder and leader of Now and Then, a club whose goal is to create and monitor a national high school social studies internet resource.

Jane Cotler Brooklyn, NY JuniorStuyvesant High School

Celina has been creating class slide shows and helping her computer teachers since the age of ten. Every summer she has shown her commitment to and love of technology by attending camps held at Texas A&M University-Kingsville that focused on engineering and new technologies. These camps helped to spark her fascination with up-and-coming technologies and helped her to develop her programming skills. Highlights of these summer experiences include programming a robot to do a dance to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” and using AutoCad and AutoCam to create a wax block design which in the future could actually become part of an engineering manufacturing process. In the future Celina hopes to become a computer systems analyst where she can use her creativity and problem-solving skills.

Celina De Leon Corpus Christi, TXSeniorRay High School

2010 Winners

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Migela is most interested in troubleshooting computer hardware and web design. On the computer hardware side, she enjoys the building, maintenance, and selection of computer components. Web design allows her to use her creative side, experimenting with different colors, ideas, and pictures. Outside of school, Migela prides herself in being accepted to and attending the Microsoft DigiGirlz Camp where she gained hands-on experience in the technology workforce. She also volunteers at ImaginOn, the children’s library located in downtown Charlotte where she assists teenagers in the Tech Central and Studio I areas. Migela plans a career in computer systems analysis.

Migela EvansCharlotte, NCSeniorDavid W. Butler High School

Tesca is most interested in designing and programming artificial intelligence for robots. When she noticed that many individuals wanted to join a robotics team and many teams were looking for extra members, Tesca used her knowledge of PHP, SQL, CSS, and HTML to develop a matching website for competitive robotics teams. In 2008, Tesca competed in the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. In 2009, Tesca’s robotics team placed first in its state competition and third at the national level. To help spread their knowledge to other young women, Tesca and her robotics team members have volunteered at two Girl Scout robotics and engineering camps.

Tesca Fitzgerald Tigard, ORJuniorAll Prep Early College Academy

2010 Winners

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Katharyn has been programming since middle school, where she first learned LOGO. Since then she has taken more computer classes and learned other languages such as ALICE, Visual Basic, and Java. She has won her school’s programming competition for two years, one year making a game by herself and the other year collaborating with someone else. At the end of Arizona State University’s CampGame in 2008, Katharyn was named Best Programmer and her team won Best Game. Other interests include phone applications and robotics. Always a leader in her school, Katharyn is her school’s go-to-person when anyone has a question about a computer problem.

Katharyn Garcia Phoenix, AZJuniorCarl Hayden High School

For Marissa it was robotics that launched her love of both engineering and programming. She started out by learning and mastering NXT programming and then moved onto Labview, HTML, C, C++, Dreamweaver, and Java. She is the editor of the technology section of Florida Virtual School News in a Click newspaper; this combines her love of computing with her love of writing. As a participant, leader, and mentor, Marissa has been involved in many First Lego League teams; one team won the Florida state competition. In the future she hopes to become head programmer and co-captain of her First Robotics Competition team.

Marissa Goldberg Saint Cloud, FLJuniorHome-schooled

2010 Winners

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As a student in the Pre-Engineering Magnet Program at her high school, Amber has taken specific courses that have given her a love of programming, especially designing and creating circuit boards, loops, robotics programming, and Flash Actionscripting. Amber mentors younger students in the Pre-Engineering Magnet Program, helping them with their homework and to understand the technology. She also participated in the Summer Leadership Seminar at West Point Military Academy. As an active member of National Honor Society, Amber has participated in Race for the Cure, Special Olympics, and Non-Commissioned Officers Wives’ Club Bazaar.

Amber Gullatte El Paso, TXSeniorCaptain John L. Chapin High School

Lucerito dreams one day of becoming an engineer and has taken active steps to prepare herself for this future career. She started out by studying Microsoft Visual Basic.Net and teaching herself how to modify codes. Participation in Project Lead the Way’s Science Technology and Engineering Preview Summer showed Lucerito how many engineering job opportunities exist and sparked her interest in the field. As a member of the Architecture Construction Engineering Mentor Program, she has been a leader in the effort to design affordable housing in her city. As a leader in her school, Lucerito is the ninth-grade class president and the representative for the ninth grade on the School Site Counsel.

Lucerito Gutierrez San Diego, CAFreshmanSouthwest Senior High School

2010 Winners

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As a senior in the Center for Information Technology (CIT) at Deep Run High School, Marissa is the Co-Chair and Co-Founder of the Girls of CIT, a club dedicated to uniting the female students. She is also the Historian and Webmaster for her school’s National Honor Society, Website Committee Chair for Mu Alpha Theta, and an active member of Computer Club. Marissa has also participated at Microsoft’s DigiGirlz Day and High Tech Camp. By applying through RichTech, Marissa was hired as an IT department intern for Ukrop’s Super Markets Inc., a supermarket chain with twenty-six stores, working with Database Administration, Web Development, and Technical Support teams. In the future, Marissa aspires to be a Web Developer and Programmer.

Marissa HalpertRichmond, VASeniorDeep Run High School

Bianca hopes one day to be involved in creating humanoid robots with conversational abilities and artificial intelligence. She already has built many robots that were designed to perform specific tasks, such as a robotic dog that was able to respond to touch and sound stimuli. This robot placed in the top 400 in the country for the Discovery Channel Young Scientists Challenge. A robotic arm she built won the “Engineering Design Award” for a state level competition. Involvement with the FIRST Lego League, FRC, and a VEX Savage Soccer team keep her busy as well. For the future, Bianca is most interested in robotics, artificial intelligence, and theoretical computer science.

Bianca Homberg Westborough, MAJuniorWestborough High School

2010 Winners

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Jasmin’s main programming interest is robotics. She is an active member of her school’s robotics team, a team that placed 14th at the Vex World Championships in Dallas, Texas. The robotics team involvement has exposed Jasmin to easyC, C, C++, and basic stamp. She put these skills to use teaching easyC in a four-week robotics programming class at Morgan State University. As an intern with Northrop Grumman, she found great challenges in manufacturing and programming a robot that could communicate with other states in the U.S. and in developing strategies and other components related to running a successful business.

Jasmin JohnsonBaltimore, MDSeniorPaul Laurence Dunbar High School

Brianna has special interests in casino and driving simulation games, robotics, and creating short movies. She has pursued these interests by creating games such as Solitaire, Black Jack 21, and Card Wars, making short movies using Alice and Scratch, and starting an all-girls team, RoboChix, at her high school. She has also led workshops through the Georgia Tech School Computing Assistant Program, teaching middle-school students to use and understand tools such as Alice, Scratch, Pleo and Pico Crickets. Along with her school activities, Brianna helps her mother with her design business, creating brochures, flyers, and business cards.

Brianna JordanAustell, GASeniorWheeler High School

2010 Winners

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Through AP Computer Science, Stephanie learned Java and discovered how the possibilities of computer science apply to her lifelong dream of working as an aerospace engineer in a space program. She attended Murray State University’s Cyber Cave Academy where she enjoyed the culminating project, creating a podcast that explained in a witty and fun way the complicated topic of transporting information over the Internet. Stephanie devotes time to her school’s technology needs through the Tech Leadership Team. Beyond her own school, Stephanie started mathSTRONG for fourth graders at another local school, a program whose purpose is to encourage younger girls to enjoy and understand math.

Stephanie Klimczak St. Louis, MOSeniorVilla Duchesne Oak Hill School

Bethany discovered a love for software because it combines two passions: robotics and programming. She has been on her school’s robotics team for three years, this year as the team leader and lead programmer, and on her school’s software team for three years. One of Bethany’s favorite memories from her AP Computer Science class is when she chose to develop a computer game using Actionscript 3.0 for her final project, which she had to teach herself how to use. Her thirst for knowledge doesn’t end at her high school, as she is taking honor courses in Engineering at Ohio State University as well.

Bethany LaPenta Pickerington, OHSeniorColumbus Academy

2010 Winners

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Anna has been very involved in her school and local community. She is VP of community outreach for the Student Research and Development Club, which shares materials and guidance with local students who are interested in technology-related projects. She also works at a community center to help the elderly with computer literacy. At school she is involved with the programming club and the Physettes club, a club which encourages young women to explore opportunities in STEM fields. In the future Anna hopes to be more involved in technology that deals with medicine, having a special interest in biotechnologies and neurorobotics.

Anna Molosky Issaquah, WASeniorSammamish Senior High School

Alexandra is most interested in robotics in relation to NASA. She attended the Summer Opportunity in Aeronautics for High School Scholars (SOAR) at NASA’s Langley Research Institute where she participated in hands-on, interactive, aeronautics-related challenges including aeronautics design projects, flight simulation software, model aircraft and rocketry, scientific ballooning, and wind funnel tests; her team won a trophy for its final project presentation. This summer, Alexandra has been accepted to the NASA INSPIRE resident internship and she is an active participant in NASA’s OLC (online learning community). Alexandra is a member of the Computer Science/Robotics Club at Loras College, where she also takes college classes to keep herself challenged academically. She plans a career in artificial intelligence and robotics.

Alexandra Olivares Dubuque, IASeniorDubuque Senior High School

2010 Winners

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Ciara has overcome many challenges in her life through her creativity and hard work. She brings her ideals and ethics into her everyday life not only by expanding her own knowledge but by helping others. Ciara was initially attracted to programming by its logic, its exercise in problem-solving, and its ability to make things happen through code. One of Ciara’s proudest moments came during her month-long internship at the University of Tennessee’s Innovative Computing Laboratories; Ciara and a fellow intern created a tutorial for the TAU Portal, which allows the sharing information between scientists and their staff. Ciara gives back to others through her work as a teacher’s aide for a group of gifted middle school students; she helps them better understand subjects such as Boolean algebra, truth tables, and binary.

Ciara ProctorChicago, ILSeniorNorthside College Preparatory High School

Katelyn’s love of design and programming has led her to do many things, from designing and programming robots in Ag class to making movies in Dreamweaver. Katelyn’s list of activities is long and varied: she has been a member of the Math Counts team and the Acalympic team, vice-president of FFA Agricultural Education, three-year president of FCCLA (Family, Career and Community Leaders of America), 4-H Morton County Teen Exhibitor of the Year, yearbook editor, and a volleyball and basketball player— in addition to drama, speech, band, choir, and other activities. She is very proud of the website that she created for a local business and of the other technology and programming guidance she provides in her community. One of Katelyn’s life passions is that no person should have to be deprived of the gift of technological advancement.

Katelyn SchiradoGlen Ullin, NDJuniorGlen Ullin High School

2010 Winners

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Natasha is most interested in creating interactive websites, programming robots, and designing multiplayer web-based video games. She has participated in FIRST Robotics competitions, with her team winning robotic design awards at the regional and state level; science fairs where she has placed for her projects at regional and state competitions; a summer research internship at the Virginia State University STEM labs; and Digispired, a video game design and robotics programming project funded by the National Science Foundation. She was also voted vice president of the Student Cooperative Association.

Natasha Sheybani Colonial Heights, VASophomoreAppomattox Regional Governor’s School

Ever since her father gave Ada her first Lego RCX robotics kit, she has been hooked. Her love for robotics, programming, and computer software can be seen in the ways that she helps better her community in its awareness of technology. Ada has participated in many programs related to science, math, engineering, and technology at her school and at Duke University. Her fluency in many different programming languages has helped her in many projects, including one in which she rebuilt computers to give back to the community. In the future Ada hopes to attend MIT and study electrical engineering and computer science.

Ada Taylor Durham, NCSophomoreDurham Academy

2010 Winners

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Marisol is most interested in the physical components of a computer. She has taken Introduction to Electronics, Introduction to Computers, Computer Maintenance I & II, Introduction to Telecommunications, and Networking+. She learned about taking computers apart and putting them back together during her Computer Maintenance I & II classes; this knowledge was especially useful when she won and set a record time in the “Break/Fix” competition. Marisol is also involved in many activities at her school such as Secretary Officer of Skills USA, Treasurer for Mu Alpha Theta, Volunteers of America Action Team, National Honor Society, and the Ivy League Focus Group. She also volunteers her time as a morning tutor for her fellow students.

Marisol Vazquez South Houston, TXSeniorEastwood Academy

When Jinzhao was ten her father asked her to write Java codes for factorials. Through hard work and dedication she was able to write these codes and pave a path for her future in computing. Jinzhao’s interest in interface design and robotics was sparked by creating a virtual interface to help visitors learn about a MARCbot while volunteering at the Museum of Science in Boston. At school, she is the student representative for the Technology Planning Committee and a technology assistant, helping teachers and staff with computer and other technology problems. In her senior year, Jinzhao has especially loved taking AP Computer Science.

Jinzhao Wang Brighton, MASeniorBoston Latin School

2010 Winners

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Sherry loves algorithms because they are used so frequently in our everyday lives; they have drawn her to high performance computing. One of her many noteworthy successes is placing 30,000th out of more than one million entries in the Stanford Folding at Home contest. This contest is a bioformatics distributed computing project that tries to perform computationally-intensive simulations of protein folding and other molecular dynamics. She also has been involved in an internship with AltLaw legal search engine. At school Sherry has been an inspiration to her fellow students by starting the school’s computer team and by being named the school’s ACSL (American Computer Science League) all-star team captain.

Sherry Wu Elmwood Park, NJSeniorVocational & Technical High – Hackensack

A simple virus on Vivian’s home computer sparked an interest in programming. As she developed her programming skills she soon realized that she also possessed an interest in interface development. She believes that each is limited without the other, but combining the two can be powerful. Vivian is most comfortable with Java, but also has learned PHP, MySQL, and VisualBasic. She uses PHP and MySQL to help her write scripts for interactive websites. Vivian has also been an active member of her school’s yearbook staff by making it easier for information to be transferred within the yearbook network at her school. She is the chapter president and webmaster for Mu Alpha Theta.

Vivian Yang Sugar Land, TXSeniorClements High School

2010 Winners

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Ling Yeung Del Mar, CASeniorTorrey Pines High School

When a friend showed Ling the robot he had built and programmed from scratch, she knew that she wanted to have that power to create. She joined the robotics club her sophomore year, eager to learn all she could about robots. She has found that she especially enjoys the tournaments because they bring a sense of team unity and spirit. One of her team’s proudest moments was when the team placed first in the International Autonomous Robotics Contest. Other examples of her involvement include serving as co-president of both Botball and Torrey Pines Information Technology (TPIT) Club, a club that refurbishes old and dysfunctional computers for disadvantaged families; and serving as Feature Editor of the Falconer. She also founded Progression Tutoring, a tutoring program at the local public library for elementary to middle-school kids in all subject areas.

Jenny developed many skills and delved deeper into the world of technology when she interned with the Center of Embedded Networked Sensing (CENS). She created a cell phone application and online tool that allows users to track their environmental impact and exposure through GPS data. When working on this project, Jenny learned the Python programming language and is now learning additional languages. She is also very involved in the Remotely Operated Vehicle Team that she and several other students started and built into an award-winning team. Jenny loves technology, but she is also involved in dance, cross country, piano, speech, and community service.

Jenny ZhangRancho Palos Verdes, CASeniorCalifornia Academy of Mathematics & Science

2010 Winners

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Notes

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Notes