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NMSU to host community celebration of diversity in computing

The field of computer science is growing so fast it outpaces all other occupations in the U.S. New Mexico State University is helping to broaden the pipeline through programs that engage diverse students coming from public schools to encourage them to get computer science degrees that enable them to compete for these high paying jobs.

NMSU’s Department of Computer Science and the Young Women in Computing program are inviting the Las Cruces area community to an event to celebrate diversity in technology careers from 12–2 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 2 at the Las Cruces Museum of Science & Nature, 411 Downtown Mall. The event is free and open to the public.

“We’ll be offering fun programming activities for families,” said Clara Graham, YWiC program manager. “YWiC is a multidimensional outreach program that delivers in-school presentations, workshops, after-school programs and summer camps. Since 2006, we have directly impacted more than 18,000 students and we hope to reach even more groups of diverse and underrepresented young people in the future to encourage them to pursue computer science careers. We’re excited about this community outreach and hope parents and students will join us on Dec. 2.”

YWiC provides year-round educational activities using hands-on experiences in beginning coding and object-oriented programming. The program in the Department of Computer Science in the College of Arts and Sciences hosts over 60 workshops each year, to both young women and men, in grades 5-12. 

The workshops focus on bringing awareness to the vast array of computer science careers, the computer science college majors and how students can get involved with computer science activities locally. Parents can schedule a visit with YWiC’s outreach team or plan a visit by contacting Graham at cgraham@cs.nmsu.edu or 575 646-4451.

Information from NMSU