Chelsie Cooper, an employee of the Marshall University’s digital forensics and information assurance program and an alumna of the program, spoke as a panelist at the Women & Technology Conference in Charleston earlier this semester. Cooper serves as an advisor for Marshall’s Women in Cyber organization and attended the conference with 10 student members of that group.
Cooper spoke as part of a panel discussion titled “Starting A Career in Tech – How We Did It,” offering advice on starting a career in technology, including descriptions of in-demand technologies, how to navigate the tech job search, where opportunities are in West Virginia and the challenges faced by women in the tech sector.
The 2019 Women & Technology Conference featured women speakers in technology-related fields and aimed to educate women working in technology fields or pursuing tech-focused careers, as well as leaders in education, agency officials, nonprofit leaders and more. The group hopes to help bridge the tech gender gap and inspire future generations of girls to pursue STEM fields.
“It’s becoming more and more known how females are underrepresented in the technology fields, even here on campus,” Cooper said. “With functions such as the Women & Technology Conference and student organizations here on campus like WInC [Women in Cyber], we can bring light to females in these fields. We can work together to show that these fields aren’t just for the males and empower more young females to join us. Through these efforts and other organizations, together, we can work to bridge the gender gap in technology.”
Women In Cyber’s mission is to provide tech education, networking, leadership development and community outreach opportunities for its members. It currently has 23 student members, representing a variety of Marshall’s cyber-related degree programs. For more information about the group, contact Cooper at cooper300@marshall.edu.
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Photo: Marshall representatives at the Women & Technology Conference were, in the top row (from left to right) Jayden Jacobs, Morganne Hutchinson, Lucy Sutton, and Izzy Bennett. In the bottom row are Stacy Cossin, Chelsie Cooper, Amber East, Savannah Friend and Hannah Carroll.