In 2018, my family and I immigrated from Egypt to the United States and settled in Arizona. It was a challenge for me to assimilate to the culture here as it was so different from what I was used to, and it was particularly difficult for my parents to leave their jobs and lives back home behind to give their children a better life in the States. In high school, I enjoyed the challenge of honors STEM classes such as physics and calculus, and knew that I wanted to pursue a degree in engineering, but was unsure on what field to pursue. I was first admitted to ASU as an industrial engineering major, but was constantly unsure whether I made the right decision. In my first semester, I entered my first hackathon, completely clueless as to what a hackathon even is. I just thought it would be an interesting opportunity to make friends, which it was. Furthermore, this was my very first venture into programming. In my second semester of freshman year, I took my first ever coding class, and was surprised to find that I really enjoyed the challenge of programming. Mainly, I was surprised because I was under the impression that computer science was reserved for the incredibly intelligent and gifted, and that surely there was no way I would be able to understand it. This class helped me realize my potential as well as what I would really like to do for a career. The following semester I was a computer science student. Being a woman in computer science could often be a lonely experience. It is not rare for me to look around in my lecture hall and find that I am one of the few girls in the room. The female engineers and computer scientists in my life are my biggest inspirations, and I hope to become this sort of inspiration for the next generation. A big part of why I am pursuing my education is to pay my parents back for all they have given up and given to me. Seeing my parents struggle since we first immigrated here has ignited in me a need to succeed in order to make their hardships worthwhile. However, I also want to succeed for myself, in order to build for myself a future where I am happy and doing meaningful work. I look around me and I see the impact that technology has on the world. My goal in the future is to be able to contribute to this impact in a positive way.

Technology plays a crucial role in everyday life. We are able to automate all kinds of tasks by applying computer science, and our world pretty much relies on the internet to function. A computer science degree gives me the tools necessary in order to participate in the rapid advancement of technology. By studying computer science, I am exposed to various domains within it, such as cybersecurity, web development and software engineering. Each of these intimately impact billions of lives. For example, consider databases housing the population’s sensitive information, maintained by software engineers, who likely hold a degree in computer science. Social media applications developed by software engineers, and largely control communication as well as the circulation of global news. We are now seeing advancements such as self-driving cars, which require carefully engineered software in order to run safely and properly, placing someone’s life in its hands. As someone who is studying computer science, I understand that I might be responsible for people’s data, the media they consume and even their lives. Knowing this, I plan to use my computer science degree responsibly. According to ourworldindata.org, it took humanity 2.4 million years to develop stone tools. In contrast, it took only sixty six years since the invention of the first airplane for humans to land on the moon. Technology is growing exponentially, and what might have been relevant today might not be relevant tomorrow. By the time I graduate, specific languages will already be outdated. might be already outdated. However, I do not find this discouraging. I believe that a computer science degree provides me with timeless fundamentals in technology, as well as provides me with the discipline, zeal and curiosity to continue learning outside of school.

Deciding to leave everything and everyone my family and I knew behind to come to America was an extremely difficult decision. However, I am forever grateful that my parents took this leap to give my siblings and me a better shot at education and life. Career opportunities are limited in Egypt, especially considering the persecution and discrimination faced by Egyptian people of my religion. My family experienced this discrimination firsthand: being denied jobs and academic opportunities for what they choose to believe. Coming to America impacted my career goals dramatically. Being the melting pot that it is, I have never felt limited by who I am, what my background is, or what I choose to believe in. Coming to America has opened many doors for me and allowed me to dream big. American pop culture has a wide reach, and I was inspired by many products from American companies that reached me back home. From there, many of my dream companies seemed inaccessible, and I often felt like I had to settle for a job in a company I was not passionate about. However most of them are based here, such as Disney, Adobe and Blizzard, and their headquarters are only a domestic flight away. Furthermore, the United States is a center of transformation, producing new professionals and technologies constantly. This move has placed me at the center of innovation and helped my dreams seem much more in reach, which has completely transformed my career goals. Since coming to the United States, I no longer feel limited by where or who I am. A career in technology is never stagnant and is constantly evolving. In Egypt, I was amazed at products like the iPhone and games like Overwatch. Since then, technology has only continued to evolve and I have continued to be amazed. This is the area of engineering that excites me the most. As a computer science student, I often hear that the skills that I am currently learning in the classroom will become obsolete in only a few years; history proves this. This sounds demoralizing and might make it sound like a career in computer science is a dead end, but it only proves how fast this field advances. As a student, I am always being pushed to develop not only my technical skills but also the way I approach and think through problems. Because the fields in STEM are constantly evolving at an unstoppable rate, with new technologies being developed and advancements being made daily, there is always something new to learn and new ways to solve problems. This makes the possibilities and opportunities in technology virtually endless.

To me, a career in STEM means constantly being challenged, constantly learning and being at the center of innovation and change. A career in technology is never stagnant and is constantly evolving. As a computer science student, I often hear that the skills that I am currently learning in the classroom will become obsolete in only a few years; history proves this. This sounds demoralizing and might make it sound like a career in computer science is a dead end, but it only proves how fast this field advances. As a student, I am always being pushed to develop not only my technical skills but also the way I approach and think through problems. Because the fields in STEM are constantly evolving at an unstoppable rate, with new technologies being developed and advancements being made daily, there is always something new to learn and new ways to solve problems. This makes the possibilities and opportunities in technology virtually endless. These unlimited possibilities mean that a career in STEM puts me directly at the heart of worldwide innovation. The idea that I could be working on a solution that could improve people’s lives and potentially change the world is incredibly exciting to me. A career in STEM means that I will be tangibly contributing to the field as well as society as a whole. Being a STEM professional also means that I will be constantly collaborating with other accomplished technologists and engineers. This means that I will be able to learn from their experiences and share my ideas with them. Working on a team of other professionals and hearing their different perspectives will only help expand my worldview and further push me to challenge myself. Being a woman in STEM adds another layer to this. Although I loved math and science at school, I considered Computer Science to be an impossibly difficult field and dismissed the idea of doing it for a career. Before considering studying computer science, I was inspired by many female engineers and technologists in my life and beyond, such as Grace Hopper. Their stories inspired me to pursue it and helped me believe that it was not impossible. As a professional in tech, I would be able to directly interact with other professionals like them. I might also be an inspiration to someone in my life and be the reason they consider a career in STEM. A career in STEM represents innovation in all aspects of life, including thinking, creating solutions, and inspiring future generations.