Representation matters in consolidating the confidence!

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Bishakha Upadhyaya is a senior majoring in Computer Science and minoring in Neuroscience at Knox College. She worked as a Global Technology Analyst Intern at Bank of America this summer. She has also co-authored two research papers in the field of K-12 Computer Science education in the US and South Asia.

Coming in as a Neuroscience major and switching to Computer Science in her Sophomore year, she believes that it’s never too late for a change and to follow one’s passion. Through her neuroscience and tech background, she has developed her interests in Natural Language Processing and Artificial Intelligence. She sees mistakes as a growth process and strives to expand her knowledge each day with a curious mindset.

“I think we learn a lot from the environment we grow up in. Growing up, I didn’t know many people in engineering or tech backgrounds, so my academic and career interests naturally aligned with what I had been exposed to. After I was exposed to Computer Science and the endless career possibilities in tech, I found my passion. I want to be able to inspire the people around me to explore their career opportunities beyond what’s expected of them and find their passion.”

Bishakha believes that representation matters in consolidating the confidence and the feeling of belonging in any field, especially for women and minorities. Working as a Computer Science student ambassador in her college and formerly serving as the president of the Women in Computer Science chapter at Knox, she has learned the power of community, empowerment, and representation. After attending GHC in 2019 and seeing the Systers affinity groups missing Nepali Women in Computing, she felt the lack of representation of Nepali women in Tech. She is excited to be a part of Nepali Women in Computing and is working towards increasing Nepali women’s representation in tech. She wishes to inspire more women to find their careers in tech/STEM.

Bishakha has been leading Nepali Women in Computing’s collaboration with Indian Women in Computing and Her Tech Hour to bring a series of webinars to inform, connect, and develop women leaders in technology. NWiC is proud to have her on board and is grateful to her for bringing new ideas and energy to the team.