My Experience at GHC’19
Part 2
This is Part 2 of my GHC Experience. If you haven't read Part 1, the link is here!.
Now, let me unfold what I saw at GHC’19.
Grace Hopper Celebration 2019 or GHC’19 was held from Oct 1st- Oct 4th at Orange Country Convention Center, Orlando, FL with the participation of over 26,000 women technologists and allies from around the world.
The OCCC conference area was very big and involved a lot of walking! Believe me, I have never walked that much in my life in a single day :)
Here are some of the shots of the OCCC and us trying our best to find the session rooms and halls!
There is a lot to talk about when it comes to GHC, yet I find the following as the highlights of GHC’19.
- First Timer’s Orientation
First timer’s to the conference were gathered on the 1st of Oct to get heads up about the GHC’19, about what to expect and how to get the maximum out of the conference in the coming up days.
- Opening Keynote
Aicha Evans and Ana Roca Castro graced us with delightful and motivative keynote speeches in the opening ceremony.
- Career Expo
GHC is well known for its own Career Expo, and the amazing amount of swag it holds! More than 1500 companies, took part in the Career fair of GHC 19. On-site recruiters and representees from the top tech companies would accept resumes and thereby schedule interviews with prospective candidates.
- Technology Showcase Theatre
The latest innovations and product demonstrations from sponsor companies were presented in here.
- Track Sessions(Academic, AI, Career, CRA-W, Data Science, Hardware, etc.)
Featured speakers from related fields delivered the sessions on various topics including case studies.
- Poster Sessions
Research project demonstrations from students on technological fields like Networks, IoT, Databases, Open Source, Robotics, Data Science, etc. were presented in here.
- Mentoring Circles
Interactive sessions where we could receive mentoring on job search, career change, and etc.
- Speed Mentoring
15-minute rounds of mentoring where we could receive tips from women in technical roles.
- Closing Keynote
Nonny de la Pena and Dr. Vivienne Ming delivered the ending keynote with their #IWILL statements!
- Evening Celebration
Truly amazing, huh?
After all, it’s not just about tech and research, but the party too!
There were several after parties sponsored by companies like Google, Amazon, Twitter, etc. where the invited GHC attendees can attend, meet and talk with the company recruiters and expand their network.
Last but not least, I met some good friends who really helped me out all throughout the conference and beyond. After all, GHC is all about connecting!
Now, I bet you really, really want to attend GHC at least once!
For me, Grace Hopper Celebration was more than just experience and actually like a ‘grace’ from above.
Let me bring you the next part of this series very soon.
