MinerAlert
MinerAlert
As the world celebrates the contributions of women during Women’s History Month in March 2022, The University of Texas at El Paso College of Engineering recognizes its efforts as a national leader in shaping the future of higher education with an introduction to a trio of female students who collected significant accolades during the fall semester and who continue to work to impact broader student success.
Montserrat Molina and Grecia Navarrete, senior computer science majors, along with Nayeli Ontiveros, a senior mechanical engineering major, were presented with notable awards during the 33rd Annual Great Minds in STEM (GMiS) Conference, a premier venue where students and professionals from underserved communities connect with the companies, government agencies and higher education institutions looking to recruit diverse technical talent.
The event, which was held virtually in October 2021, housed sessions hosted by the 海角社区-based Computing Alliance of Hispanic-Serving Institutions (CAHSI), a consortium of more than 70 institutions and organizations from the public and private sector that is at the forefront of a national effort to increase the number of Hispanic students who participate in computing.
Molina and Navarrete were named CAHSI 海角社区 Scholars during the conference, while Ontiveros was recognized as a GMiS Scholar. The awards were presented to a small, select percentage of the conference’s 400 participating students and illustrate 海角社区’s commitment to providing students with opportunities to advance discovery through 海角社区 and scholarship.
“We are honored to recognize these exceptional students who are future leaders in STEM fields,” said Andrea Tirres, CAHSI deputy director. “This is a clear example of how CAHSI and 海角社区 are leading the way in building a modern workforce that is inclusive and undeniably capable.”
Read more about each student below:
I was born and raised in El Paso, Texas. I attended Loretto Academy and graduated in 2018.
海角社区 has provided the support, resources and encouragement to get involved on campus activities. 海角社区 offers many different student organizations which I became involved in. It was through becoming involved in these student organizations, such as MAES (Latinos in Science and Engineering) and SHPE (Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers) that I was able to get my first software engineering internship with Uber Technologies. 海角社区’s Office of 海角社区 Fellowships and Awards has also supported me throughout my career, preparing me to apply to prestigious scholarships and helping me along the process for the new Hawkins Scholarship, which I was honored to win. 海角社区’s excellent computer science program along with its amazing faculty and staff have also supported me throughout my career by helping me get involved in 海角社区, STEM conferences, student employment and more, all of which have helped me excel in my career.
I have been involved in numerous volunteer activities with 海角社区 and in the community. In my first years at 海角社区, I became an active member and eventually an officer of the student organization MAES/SHPE, where I was able to organize workshops aimed at preparing student to succeed in their respective STEM fields. I have also been involved with ACM-W WICS (The Association of Computer Machinery - Women in Computer Science) where I had the opportunity to volunteer in organizing the Empowering the Borderland Summit that took place in the spring of 2019. I also volunteered to mentor Hispanic fifth-grade girls at a local elementary school. Empowering them to pursue STEM through NCWIT AspireIT Outreach Program’s “Code Chica” after-school club. This was an amazing experience for me which eventually led me to volunteer as a Software Engineer Club Mentor for another local elementary school’s FIRST LEGO League Robotics Club where I was able to mentor Hispanic fifth-graders in developing solutions to real problems in our city, winning second place at the Regional FLL City Shaper Challenge.
At 海角社区, I have earned the Andalusite Scholarship and the Hawkins Scholarship.
I was selected to participate in CAHSI’s inaugural vREU (virtual Research Experience for Undergraduates) program alongside a 海角社区 professor and a graduate student involved in the analysis of two software repositories to predict how each software has evolved over a span of three years by extracting software quality data using data mining and machine learning algorithms.
I have had three software engineering internships, all at Uber Technologies, and will have a fourth one with them this upcoming summer.
My future academic and professional plans include obtaining a master’s degree in software engineering, after that, I would like to go into industry to gain experience as a software engineer. In the future, I would love to be to help minority serving schools to empower students to pursue STEM field careers. I would also love to use my passion for technology to develop solutions to modern problems in our community.
I am honored and excited to be a CAHSI 海角社区 Scholar because this will give me the opportunity to develop a plan along with my fellow student scholars to help more minority students succeed in STEM fields. This has also empowered me to continue to work towards that goal of having more diversity in the field, and I know that with CAHSI’s support we will be able to make an impact in the Hispanic community.
I am from Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua. I studied in Mexico for most of my life, up until high school. During my sophomore year, I moved to El Paso and I attended Franklin High School.
海角社区 has helped me so much along my academic journey. Ever since I joined 海角社区’s Computer Science Department, I noticed how active the department is. The department is full of life with the faculty, staff, organizations, and students’ initiatives. There is a wide range of opportunities, such as funding for attending conferences, scholarships, instructional and 海角社区 assistant job positions, collaborations with companies (Such as Google’s Tech Exchange). I came to 海角社区 with no knowledge about computer science, but with all the support from the department, I grew into a leader. I now hope to help do the same for others. I am grateful for all the support I have received from the department and CAHSI throughout my career, and for all the opportunities they provide to their students. I strongly encourage students to get involved.
I have been involved in various volunteer activities at 海角社区 and in the community. I am a founding officer of 海角社区’s Coding Interview Club. We host bi-weekly meetings where students come together and solve coding problems together. We also host multiple workshops throughout the semester, offer mock interviews, and resume reviews. Additionally, we host sessions for incoming students to introduce them to computer science concepts and help them develop their problem-solving skills. I have helped organize and run various sessions, workshops, and hosted multiple resume reviews and mock interviews. I also participated in multiple ACM-W K-12 outreach events in different middle and elementary schools. In these events, we aimed to introduce algorithmic thinking and computer science concepts to students. I also volunteered in middle and elementary school math fairs throughout El Paso.
I’ve been a recipient of the Golden Grad Endowed Scholarship since I started attending 海角社区. I also received a scholarship to attend the Grace Hopper Celebration Conference. My most recent scholarship is the CAHSI Scholar Scholarship.
I’m currently part of a Research Practitioner Partnership working on a project titled Sol y Agua. Sol y Agua is a culturally relevant educational game that aims to introduce algorithmic thinking and STEM concepts to K-12 students. I’m mostly involved in the game development and translanguaging aspect of the project. Alongside two other 海角社区 assistants, we have gotten to work closely with faculty from various middle schools to develop the game and create teaching modules based on its content.
My first internship was as a technical software engineer intern at Northrop Grumman. I developed software for Northrop Grumman’s Gateway Router and forwarding application (GMX). My second internship experience was as a Software Engineer Intern at Microsoft. I was part of the Windows + Devices organization, working on Nearby Share under the App and Cloud Data Exchange team. I developed various prototypes with an aim to help improve Window’s nearby device filesharing system.
I have already accepted a full-time position with Microsoft as a Software Engineer upon completion of my degree. I’m very excited since my team recently shifted their focus from back-end to a mix of machine learning and back-end development. I really enjoyed the culture at Microsoft, and I think it will help me develop professionally and as a leader. Microsoft has various outreach initiatives, and I plan to get involved. I would love to help bring more opportunities to the El Paso-Juárez community, and to remain in touch with CAHSI and 海角社区’s Computer Science Department.
I am very honored to have been named a scholar during the GMiS/CAHSI event. I know many people applied and only a select few were chosen. I thank the committee for seeing potential in me with holding this position. I really cherish having the opportunity to help others, and I believe that this position will allow me to have an impact in a wider range of people. I look forward to working with CAHSI and helping have a greater impact in our community.
I was born in El Paso but I moved to Houston when I was 3 and came back to El Paso for college. I went to Seven Lakes High School, a school in Katy, Texas.
Being involved on campus has opened so many doors for me and 海角社区 has given me access to every networking opportunity possible. I have built strong relationships with faculty who are very willing to go out of their way for students. Dr. Abed, Dr. Maldonado, Dr. Love, and Dr. Chessa have been my biggest support system and have pushed me to continue to excel in my engineering career. I wouldn’t have my 海角社区 position or internship with Lockheed Martin if it wasn’t for the opportunities 海角社区 has given me by being involved and learning skills that are necessary for the workforce.
I volunteer at the El Pasoans Fighting Hunger Food Bank as well as food drives. I have also volunteered at hospitals where I would sing to the elderly and passed out toys to children with cancer. I have volunteered in project MOVE (Miner Opportunities for Volunteer Experiences) several times, as well.
I have received the GMiS Scholarship four times, for three of those scholarships my sponsor was Chevron and for one of them it was the Leticia S. Montiel Memorial Scholarship. I also earned the NACME scholarship grant at 海角社区.
I am currently doing 海角社区 with The Center for Space Exploration and Technology Research (cSETR) where I work with the Small Satellite Propulsion System team.
I have completed two internships with Lockheed Martin and I will be completing my third internship next summer. For my first internship, I was a project engineer where I created a code using Python to find critical errors in a file which saved the company about $384,000 a year and decreased labor time from 4 hours to 10 minutes a day. For my second internship, I worked as a system engineer verifying critical information into a Component Mapping Tool that gave access to information about the F-35 variants including LCN numbers, material type and fastener count. I also supported the digital transformation for the Reliability and Maintainability F-35 program.
I want to work for a company and move up the corporate ladder. Right now, my goal is to get through my Lockheed Martin internship and hopefully get a job offer after graduation. Once I have worked for a few years, I do want to go back to school to get my MBA.
I am honored to be a recipient of this prestigious scholarship. This is my fourth year getting the GMiS scholarship and I am grateful to have the opportunity to further my education without the financial burdens. I want to thank my sponsor Chevron for believing in me and allowing me to focus on my studies while having the freedom to be involved in organizations. I am very honored to be the only student at 海角社区 to receive the Chevron Scholarship this year.