CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCIV) — The city of Charleston, North Charleston and the state of South Carolina have designated October 10 as “Charleston Women in Technology Day.” For the past 10 years, the nonprofit organization Charleston Women in Tech has been helping women in the area pursue their dreams in technology.
Barbara Condron is now a successful woman in the technology field.
“I was a bartender and a single mom, and I was like, ‘I need a change, but I don’t know how to get it,'” said Condron, now a UX designer at Booz Allen Hamilton. speak She is also a former CHS Women in Tech mentor.
As a college student at the time, he attended the Charleston Women in Engineering gathering, and that changed everything.
“Just being in a room full of women who are all so incredibly welcoming and want to support other women, and everyone has their own different roles, and how everyone is Just seeing how successful it was, it was amazing. It was very emotional,” Condron said.
Next, she received guidance, and a new step began to bring her closer to her dream.
Read more | “Google expands presence in Berkeley and Dorchester counties with $3.3 billion investment”
“Jennifer was my mentor and a great person. She was a UX designer and I was really interested in that. I then transferred to the College of Charleston and got a degree in computing with an area of art. ,” Condron explained.
Today, this mother of three designs internal software for the government.
“Women in tech have been role models for me, and now I get to be a role model for my kids, which is great,” Condron said.
Stories like Condron’s are made possible thanks to the hard work of women like Suzie Rybicki through her work with Charleston Women in Tech over the past decade.
“Charleston Women in Tech is proud to be a part of this partnership,” said Suzie Rybicki, executive director of Charleston Women in Tech. “So it started as a simple little happy hour and grew over the years. I remember moving from Chicago to Charleston a few months after it started, and one of the founding members, Nina Magnusson, It really pulled me in and made me actively participate, and I realized it was a great opportunity to network with other like-minded people, and it grew over time.”
As of Thursday, the Charleston Women in Tech meetup group has 4,000 members and has hosted more than 150 events.
Read more | “Several states have sued TikTok, claiming the platform’s design is harming young people’s mental health.”
This includes the Women in Industry Conference, which brings together hundreds of women for networking and skills development. The event also typically recognizes four high school students who were awarded scholarships to the colleges of their choice.
“So one of our proudest moments is being able to give back to children in underserved communities through the CodeON initiative,” Rybicki said. “This is a program we put together about eight years ago where we have volunteers from local technology companies come in and teach coding skills to kids.”
We empower, connect and inspire women in technology.
Charleston Women in Tech will be hosting a 10th anniversary party at the Red Palm Tavern in downtown Charleston on Thursday, Oct. 10, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. This is a free event open to the public.
Click here to learn more about Charleston Women in Tech and how to get involved.
