Outreach options. by Vista

Outreach options. by Vista - June 2020 Scholarship Essay

What changes would I like to make in my prospective career? There are multiple changes that can happen but the one for me in particular is to create an opportunity for those to enter into the field that might be deterred or those who couldn’t imagine being able to obtain a job in this career field. But, before addressing the changes, I need to first explain what my chosen career is.

Currently, I am working on obtaining a degree in computer science and hopefully, a master’s degree soon after. I am gaining this degree, skills, and knowledge to be able to work with artificial intelligence (AI).

The major change I would like to implement is to increase the accessibility of obtaining the degree necessary to be able to get employed in this sector. Currently, there is a discrepancy in the number of women and minority groups in the field of computer science. Less than 40 percent of computer science graduates are in one of these groups. Personally, I would like to see this discrepancy diminish and the percent increase. There are so many benefits for having diversity in such an innovative career, one in particular is the multitude of different ideas that will be brought by different people. This diversity of ideas can increase the speed of development and reduce potential errors. Without this diversity, novel ideas that might not be imaginable.

How would I actually implement such a change? First, I would reach out to students on a high school level and college level. This could take the form of creating programs, online or in person, for students to join in order to expose them to the field of computer science. I wish I had a program like this when I was in high school. It wasn’t until later in my degree, which was in Anthropology, that I found out that I loved coding and decided to switch to computer science. The hope is that the more exposure that people have in this field will give them another choice to consider when trying to decide which degree to pursue. More exposure means that more people will be aware that computer science could be a choice, as a result potentially more women and minority groups might choose this path for a career. Yet, just exposing them to this field is not enough.

Therefore, my second plan of action is to find ways to implement more scholarships for the minority groups and women who can’t afford college and who want to get a degree in computer science. Removing this financial barrer, informing students that they have this option, and assisting them along the way will help increase that diversity in the field of computer science. Hopefully, as more people from these groups enter college and get better opportunities and careers, future generations will be able to do the same.