Ever since I was young, I always had a fascination with computers. While most kids were interested in playing video games, I was mesmerized by the CPU and GPU behind the gaming console. I was enthralled by computer science so much so that I stopped at nothing to learn more. I took online classes after school, joined a summer coding program (Girls Who Code), and created my own projects at home. It was during my sophomore year of high school when I realized my long-term career goal. I wanted to become the CEO and founder of my own startup. At the time, my friends laughed at me. Not that many fifteen-year-olds dreamed of becoming “a boring CEO of a boring tech company” as they called it, but I was determined to achieve my dream nevertheless. As a second-generation student and a woman of color in STEM, I wanted to show society what persistence and diligence in the face of adversity really looked like. I wanted to open the door for countless other young girls to pave their own paths in computer science. But above all, I wanted to create a company that supports women and women’s health. Why this particular combination of issues? It all begins with my time at the University of California, Berkeley. Like any other incoming Berkeley student, I was eager to take challenging classes with world-renowned faculty. But more importantly, I was beyond excited to share my knowledge. Within the first few weeks on campus, I joined ANova, a student-led organization dedicated to improving computer science education in under-resourced communities in the Bay Area. It did not take long for me to realize that I absolutely love teaching and sharing my passion for computers with kids. But something was missing. Deep down, I didn’t feel completely satisfied with simply taking classes and volunteering. So, during my fourth internship at Microsoft (for a full description of my five internships, visit www.linkedin.com/in/komaly), I joined a team of six software engineers to collaborate with a Seattle non-profit organization, API Chaya. API Chaya provides support to domestic violence, sexual assault, forced marriage, and human trafficking victims. Using machine learning and 2019 Washington State census data, we created a heat-map visualization identifying the number of predicted victims/survivors in regions of Washington State where API Chaya should allocate more of its resources and outreach towards. Words cannot describe how fulfilling it felt to be a part of this team. Growing up, my mother experienced forced marriage and domestic violence. This is always a difficult topic for me to discuss. All I can say is that as her daughter, I felt extremely proud to be able to use my computer science skills to help identify more victims in my community. Working with API Chaya has been a defining moment in my career thus far and is one of the key reasons why I want to build a company that continues to support women via technology. When I returned to Berkeley after that life-changing experience, I wanted to push myself further. If I wanted to build my own tech startup, I needed to know my stuff. In my junior year of college, I decided to join the course staff as an Undergraduate Student Instructor (UGSI) for one of the most difficult computer science classes, CS 61C (Computer Architecture). As a UGSI, I was challenged to deeply understand the fundamentals of C programming, memory management, RISC-V, caches, and virtual memory, enough to be able to teach it to students my age and accurately answer their detailed questions. In addition, I took up a leadership position as Engineering Community Chair of my STEM sorority, Phi Sigma Rho. Originally, I was responsible for maintaining connections with the UC Berkeley engineering community and throwing tech talks and formal industry evening events. Since then, I’ve expanded my role to include assisting sisters with academia via tutoring and study sessions. But you know me. I’m always thinking about the next steps in my career. So, what’s my plan? Once I graduate from Berkeley with a bachelor's in computer science, I’m not stopping. I plan to work in the industry for three to five years, learning, growing, and gaining experience working on difficult teams. After this period of time, I want to head back to school to pursue an MBA at Stanford ideally. Throughout these experiences, I want to volunteer at different women’s health organizations around the greater Seattle region and the Bay Area, gathering insight on current resources available, current issues within the healthcare system, and possible technological solutions. If all goes well, my research will hopefully lead me to create my startup! Of course, this is easier said than done. But if I’ve made it thus far, nothing makes me think I can’t do this. I truly believe that my purpose in life is to help others with technology and I will stop at nothing to achieve this goal. Should you choose to select me as the Bold.org Minority Women in STEM Bi-annual scholarship winner, I will use those funds to kickstart my startup ahead of time. My dream is to be a leader. If you invest in me, you’re investing in the careers of countless other bright, young women in STEM because I have made it my mission that for every step I take forward, I look back and help others. We all rise together. You can count on that.