{"id":1275,"date":"2020-06-02T18:39:42","date_gmt":"2020-06-02T18:39:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/up.uscupstate.edu\/archive\/fall2024\/?page_id=1275"},"modified":"2024-12-06T15:27:59","modified_gmt":"2024-12-06T15:27:59","slug":"usc-upstate-women-technology","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/up.uscupstate.edu\/archive\/fall2024\/usc-upstate-women-technology\/","title":{"rendered":"Spartan Women Crack the Code"},"content":{"rendered":"
\nUp Magazine<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
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More alums and students are discovering opportunities in high-tech fields.<\/h2>\n

By Elizabeth Anderson<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Sandra Fujii \u201823 was 8 years old when she attempted to build a private server for the online games she liked playing.<\/p>\n

She didn\u2019t yet have the knowledge to be completely successful at it, but she never lost her fascination with computers. Though her dream was to become an artist, it wasn\u2019t difficult to switch to something tech-oriented when she realized the job market wasn\u2019t great for art majors.<\/p>\n

\u201cI went with computers because that was most of my life growing up,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Fujii, a software engineer at American Credit Acceptance, is one of a growing number of USC Upstate women \u2013 graduates and students \u2013 who are pursuing careers in tech-related fields. Since 2019, the number of women graduates in computer information systems has tripled, from 6% to 18% in 2024. Women make up 20% of cybersecurity graduates, a program which only graduated its first students two years ago. Overall, the number of female graduates in tech-related majors has risen from 13% to 21% over the last five years.<\/p>\n

While the tech industry remains overwhelmingly male \u2013 only 35% of the workforce is female, according to the Women in Tech Network \u2013 the numbers have improved from the early 2000s, when women were just 9% of the workforce. New opportunities in cybersecurity and AI are attracting more women to the field.<\/p>\n

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Wata Kelleh '21 is a cybersecurity analyst at Milliken & Co.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One of those is Wata Kelleh \u201921, a security analyst at Milliken & Co. Cybersecurity wasn\u2019t something she knew much about initially. In middle school, she decided to become an engineer after hearing from a female mechanical engineer on a class field trip to BMW.<\/p>\n

But when she got to Greenville Technical College, she started rethinking her goal. Given continued advances in mechanization, Kelleh wasn\u2019t sure she could count on having a job in the future. Cybersecurity, which she learned about from a family friend, seemed like a much better bet.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to be something that\u2019s always there,\u201d she remembers the friend telling her. \u201cPeople always need their device to be protected. You should look into that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kelleh did, and liked what she discovered. \u201cCybersecurity plays a role in everything, whether you\u2019re doing development, whether you\u2019re doing networking,\u201d she says. \u201cSo I love that I chose a field that plays into everything in IT.\u201d<\/p>\n

Melissa Davis, director of the USC Upstate Cybersecurity Lab and a cybersecurity instructor, says interest in the program has been growing among women. \u201cI think the first year I might have had two to three females between all my classes,\u201d says Davis, who started teaching at Upstate in 2018. \u201cI have definitely in the past couple of years seen an increase in the number of females that are in the classes, and we have been able to place a lot of them in jobs.\u201d The same holds true for computer science and computer information systems, she adds.<\/p>\n

The pathway to tech<\/h3>\n

Some Upstate women choose a tech-related major because it aligns with their interests. Havva Dokmeci, a senior who\u2019s double majoring in computer science and cybersecurity, became fascinated with cryptography when she took a summer course after her sophomore year of high school. \u201cI really developed a love for ciphers and keys and hacking,\u201d she says. \u201cI was like, this is pretty cool. It\u2019s a whole puzzle.\u201d<\/p>\n

She also discovered she was good at coding, and realized she could use that skill to support others in the future. \u201cIt\u2019s the Gen Z generation rising, and millennials and people who are older just need a lot more help with technology,\u201d Dokmeci says.<\/p>\n

Other students, such as senior Christal Cain, had never considered a tech major until starting college. Cain transferred to Upstate her sophomore year, and decided to major in cybersecurity after doing some research. \u201cBasically, cybersecurity was me just stepping out of my comfort zone and trying something I never thought about trying,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Cain admits it was \u201ckind of intimidating\u201d at first to be surrounded by students who had learned to code when they were younger. But she has enjoyed learning how to assess cyber threats and system vulnerabilities and how to keep ahead of ever-evolving attacks.<\/p>\n

Holding their own<\/h3>\n

One issue that students and alums say they haven\u2019t encountered frequently is gender bias. While some had classes where they were in the minority, few encountered any problems. \u201cIt really doesn\u2019t bother me, because we\u2019re all in here for the same thing,\u201d Cain says.<\/p>\n

Fiona Hayes, a senior computer science major, was already used to success in a traditionally male-dominated subject when she got to Upstate. She had excelled in math in high school, and carried that confidence with her as she explored computer science in college. Whenever she compared herself to anyone in high school, she says, it was to the \u201cgirls that were smarter than me\u201d rather than any of the boys.<\/p>\n

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Melissa Davis is the director of the USC Upstate Cybersecurity Lab.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Fujii says her main encounters with sexism have been in the online gaming world, where she has experienced the toxic behavior and misogynistic attacks that female gamers report they are regularly subjected to. She learned at a young age to simply ignore the aggression. \u201cWhy do I need to really involve myself in having these feuds, especially when it's not only them that look stupid, it'll make me look really dumb as well,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Caroline Smith \u201922, an HR technology analyst at Milliken, remembers a class at Upstate where she was the only woman and was a team leader for a semester-long project. Several of the male students were friends and would joke around with each other, and Smith didn\u2019t feel she was being heard.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo at first, until I felt respected, I was very serious, to the point of no jokes, no funny stuff,\u201d she recalls. \u201cI hate that that\u2019s what women have to go through to have their ideas accepted and be taken seriously, but that was how I handled it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, she says, it was important for her as a student to \u201ckeep being loud, keep being opinionated\u201d and not get discouraged by what anyone might say.<\/p>\n

Mentors matter<\/h3>\n

Joey Fowler, senior IT director of technical services at Denny\u2019s, received a version of this advice when she was just starting her career. As an African American woman in IT, Fowler says she was fortunate to have had mentors early on who encouraged her to always speak up for herself. She would remember their words whenever she was being overlooked.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the old cliche, where you say something, and the man sitting beside you says the exact same thing,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd now everybody heard it, but they didn't hear it when you said it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sometimes that would cause her to second guess herself and wonder if she could have done something differently. It was helpful then to talk to people who could give her their feedback. When Fowler visits Upstate and other colleges now to talk about her career, she advises students to seek out those individuals with whom they feel safe sharing their thoughts.<\/p>\n

\u201cFind those people who are going to be honest, not just the people who are going to tell you what you want to hear,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Mentors are also important for career guidance, she adds. Her earliest mentor was an African American businesswoman she reached out to while still a student at Converse University. Fowler offered to do free database work for her to gain some experience in the field, and the woman agreed. The relationship played a critical role in Fowler\u2019s professional development.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was able to watch her be unapologetically her and be able to garner respect,\u201d Fowler says. \u201cShe definitely showed me what was possible, probably without her even really knowing it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leading by example<\/h3>\n

Having women in leadership roles in the workplace and classroom can often make a difference for those looking to enter the field. Davis, the cybersecurity instructor, got her first job when a woman working for the city of Rock Hill took a chance on her and hired her as a network engineer straight out of college. The two later became good friends while serving as managers of different IT divisions.<\/p>\n

Davis notes she never felt intimidated about being a woman in tech, even while she was a student. \u201cI grew up as my daddy\u2019s son he never had,\u201d she says. \u201cI worked on cars, I drove wreckers, I sanded vehicles. So I was put out there to learn that if you need to do it, you can do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, she says, it can help female students to have a woman as their teacher, especially one who has experience working in the field.<\/p>\n

That was the case for Montyia Cheeseboro \u201922, an application service analyst with Milliken & Co., who as a student was inspired by Davis. \u201cHer career background is everything,\u201d Cheeseboro says. \u201cShe is a woman who was in cybersecurity, doing stuff in IT, and everything that she\u2019s accomplished, I know I can and will too, because she already did it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Space for everyone<\/h3>\n

Some companies are also finding innovative ways to foster an inclusive environment. At Milliken, employees can choose to join any number of affinity groups, such as the women\u2019s alliance, veterans alliance, or \u201cnew kids on the block\u201d for new hires. Kelleh, who is a member of the women\u2019s alliance, says the group not only provides professional development opportunities but offers mentorship as well. She currently meets monthly with a woman who works in shareholder services.<\/p>\n

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Montyia Cheeseboro '22 is an application service analyst at Milliken & Co.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWhat I really like about that is that you\u2019re exposed to a whole bunch of different people in the organization,\u201d she says. \u201cIt's really nice to just be able to network and meet people who I probably wouldn't come face to face with or even have a chat with on a daily basis.\u201d<\/p>\n

The affinity groups also helped Cheeseboro find connections within a very large company. \u201cIt forces you to get out of your comfort zone,\u201d she says. In addition to serving on the steering committees for the women\u2019s alliance and new kids on the block, she enjoys attending events held by Merge, the multicultural group. Now when she walks through different divisions, she\u2019s often greeted by people she\u2019s met at group events.<\/p>\n

Denny\u2019s, too, has employee resource groups, including a women\u2019s leadership group open to all female employees. Men in leadership positions have served as sponsors of the group, because it\u2019s important for women to see they have support from men, too, Fowler says. The company also is part of the Women\u2019s Foodservice Forum, and sends women to the conference for networking and development opportunities.<\/p>\n

Choosing the right door<\/h3>\n

While the South Carolina tech industry may be modest compared with states such as California and New York, that also means the sexism that has plagued the industry in those states is less of an issue here. State employers need tech workers, Davis notes, so skills matter more than gender.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere's such an increase in the number of jobs for cybersecurity or networking or IT that they have to utilize the people who they have at their disposal who are capable of doing the jobs,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Kelleh says when she speaks on career panels, she reminds young women they don\u2019t have to pretend to be someone they\u2019re not to work in tech. \u201cBe confident, be yourself,\u201d she says. \u201cIt sounds clich\u00e9, but don\u2019t try to change yourself to fit into an environment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cheeseboro agrees. Her first impulse when she started her job was to be nice and hang back. But her parents reminded her that people needed to know who she was and remember her good work. After that, she says, she grew more confident talking about the projects she was working on and asking for feedback.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t have to change who you are to go in certain doors,\u201d she says. \u201cIf you have to do that, then maybe that's not the door you need to go into.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

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