Broadcom Foundation Celebrates International Women in Engineering Day
Volunteer Highlights
Broadcom Inc. Engineers - Kyra Whitworth, Karen Tucker, Abby Mattern, and Kelly Bole empowering future female engineers at Harmony Tech Camp.
International Women in Engineering Day is a global celebration that spotlights the achievements of women in engineering. Broadcom Foundation views the day as a call to action. By raising the profile of women in engineering and highlighting the future career opportunities available, we can inspire the next generation of engineers.
With the engineering and advanced manufacturing industries facing a skills shortage, the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act has opened doors for women, underrepresented, and under-resourced youth in urban, rural, and tribal communities to exciting engineering careers. By celebrating the accomplishments of women engineers, promoting digital literacy through coding and opening pathways to education and career opportunities for girls, Broadcom Foundation is helping bridge the skills gap and build a more diverse and innovative engineering workforce.
Broadcom Foundation Supports Girls in Science Fairs
Basic Coding is a 21st Century+ skills that girls, under-resourced, and underrepresented youth need to become engineers who can compete for highly skilled jobs in emerging industries built on technologies of the future. As a sponsor of fifty science fairs across the United States, Broadcom Foundation has promoted a significant increase in female participants.
Following in the footsteps of Prasanthi Sathyaprakash, a former Broadcom Inc. engineer, who led OCSEF for nine years, Mojgan Khashayar, Principal Hardware Engineer at Broadcom Inc. in Irvine, and a volunteer at the Orange County Science and Engineering Fair (OCSEF), credits science fairs and Coolest Projects with giving both of her daughters a boost in confidence and more opportunities. "I now volunteer at OCSEF because I want to support other kids and encourage their love for science and technology."
Inspiring Change, Khushi Khurana's Mission is to Empower Girls in Tech
Khushi Khurana, the Delaware Valley Broadcom Coding with Commitment® award winner, is passionate about bridging the gender gap and empowering girls in tech. After attending a Young Women's STEM Conference and being surrounded by women in STEM, Khushi became inspired to learn how to code and discovered why she likes it, "I love the problem-solving and critical thinking that goes into coding. Programming is extremely logical and satisfying, like puzzle pieces that look amazing once they fit together." Khushi also started a Girls Who Code™ club to empower girls in tech. Leading this club was a profound experience that led her to learn about the stark gender gap in the tech industry. Khushi is dedicated to encouraging young girls to enhance their coding skills, recognizing the importance of women being a substantial part of the future workplace in tech fields.
Broadcom Coding with Commitment® Award is empowering Future Female Engineers
Broadcom Foundation celebrates some of the 2024 female Broadcom Coding with Commitment® winners, whose innovative projects have demonstrated exceptional creativity and problem-solving skills. Says, Paula Golden, President of Broadcom Foundation, "The young women who are recognized with Broadcom Coding with Commitment® award have demonstrated how their coding skills can be applied to making their communities and the world a better place. These young innovators embody the spirit of engineering and social responsibility, inspiring others to see the potential of technology as a force for good. Broadcom Foundation encourages parents, educators, and industry leaders to support and promote programs such as Code Clubs and Science Fairs, where young girls can gain hands-on experience, build confidence, and see firsthand the exciting possibilities that a career in engineering can offer."
Here are some of the Broadcom Coding with Commitment® winners:
- Layla Perry: National American Indian Science and Engineering Fair winner for her project "Catapult bot vs Clawbot," provides insight into the strengths and limits of robots and humans when performing specific tasks within real-life applications such as picking up trash, harvesting fruits and vegetables, and robotics.
- Ishani Bhola: Irvine Unified Science and Engineering Expo winner with her assistive navigational wearable device for the visually impaired, featuring and ultrasonic sensor and piezo buzzer.
- Yareli Gonzalez and Leila Gomez: Rio Grande Valley Science and Engineering Fair winners for their "Guardian Alert" device, a handheld panic button that activates a loud alarm to ensure safety in times of distress.
- Leilanie Lasalle: Greater New Orleans Science Fair winner for her voice-controlled lamp, eliminating the need for physical switches and making room lighting convenient and hands-free.
- Vienna Zhou: Riverside County Science and Engineering Fair winner for her project "Decoding the Matrix of Movement," predicting physical activities based on acceleration data.
- Jaelene Salinas and May Nguyen: Orange County Science and Engineering Fair winners for their water filtration device designed to catch large debris before it enters the ocean, reducing water pollution.
- Nora Fay: Minnesota Academy of Science & Engineering Fair winner for her light timer prototype, which automatically turns off lights to save energy.
- Michaela Munoz: Easter South Dakota Science and Engineering Fair winner for her electronic soil moisture sensor to prevent water waste in irrigation.
Broadcom Inc. Women Engineers Volunteer to Empower the Next Generation:
Broadcom Foundation is proud to salute female Broadcom Inc. engineers who inspire the next generation by
- Encouraging Coding: Kyra Whitworth, Broadcom Inc. ESH Specialist in Fort Collins volunteers at Harmony Tech Camp for Girls in the Code Club. She introduces girls to technology and engineering through hands-on activities. Kyra explains, "I want to encourage girls because the landscape of having a career is changing so quickly. It is easy to get discouraged and just seeing a person you can relate to in the filed helps so much."
- Motivating Latinas: Sarah Catania, R&D Engineering at Broadcom Inc. Irvine, helped develop Spanish coding projects for "Cultura con Raspberry Pi" funded by Broadcom Foundation, translating and teaching classes in Spanish to students and their parents. Sarah created a project called "Family Tree" where students used block-based programming platform Scratch to create a mini animation of their family. "This project held a special significance for me as I drew inspiration from my personal background due to my mom being a schoolteacher and Spanish being my first language." said Sarah. "This became a way to give back and motivate both students and parents to further explore the STEM field."
- Judging at Fairs: Janice Skiles, Broadcom Inc. Technical Training/Instructional Systems Design Supervisor, Fort Collins and former educator, volunteers as a judge at the Colorado Science and Engineering Fair where students can showcase their projects. "The science fair experience brought back the joy of engaging with students, fostering their curiosity and witnessing the magic of new discoveries," said Ms. Skiles when asked why she volunteers.
Broadcom Inc. is an American company and global technology leader that designs, develops and supplies a broad range of semiconductor, enterprise software and security solutions. Solutions include service provide and enterprise networking and storage, mobile device and broadband connectivity, mainframe, cybersecurity and private and hybrid cloud infrastructure.
Broadcom Foundation is a corporate nonprofit that advocates equitable access to STEM education and acquiring digital literacy as essential for attaining meaningful employment and becoming productive citizens in a tech-driven society. The foundation promotes basic coding as a critical 21st Century+ skill that all young people need to be creative STEM problem solvers who think critically, communicate and collaborate and who will help realize the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations.
