Nebraska & SW Iowa Affiliate Award Celebration
Friday, April 13, 2012
University of Nebraska at Omaha
Peter Kiewit Institute Atrium
Nebraska & SW Iowa Affiliate Award
Celebration
Event Agenda
Welcome
Dr. Stacie Petter, University of Nebraska at Omaha
Award
Introduction
Ms. Stephanie Hamilton, National Center for Women &
Information Technology
Keynote
Introduction:
Dr. Hesham Ali, University of Nebraska at Omaha
Keynote:
Ms. Karen Krabbe, Union Pacific Railroad
Award
Presentations
Dr. Stacie Petter, University of Nebraska at Omaha
Dr. Ilze Zigurs, University of Nebraska at Omaha
Closing
Remarks
Dr. Stacie Petter, University of Nebraska at Omaha
2012 Nebraska & SW Iowa Affiliate Award
Organized By
University of Nebraska at Omaha
Women & IT Engagement Link
Affiliate Award Coordinators
Dr. Stacie Petter, University of Nebraska at Omaha
Dr. Ilze Zigurs, University of Nebraska at Omaha
Award Event Coordinator
Ms. Sandy Vlasnik, University of Nebraska at Omaha
Special Thanks:
Sanjukta Bhowmick, Joyce Crockett, Anchita Dubey,
Sue Fienhold, Janice Fink, Connie Jones
Nebraska & SW Iowa Affiliate Award
Celebration
2012 Nebraska & SW Iowa Affiliate
Award Winners
Patricia has a wide range of interests, from
computer security to data analysis to robotics.
She won a state-level competition for her
project on studying the genetics of ground ivy
and co-founded the robotics club in her
neighborhood. Currently she is busy preparing
for the next round of robotics competition.
Patricia also uses technology to create fun
gifts for her family. She wants to become an
engineer so that she can continue tinkering
and building – and to spread the word that
Alan Turing is the coolest.
Patricia Hanus
Fremont, Nebraska
Hanus Homeschool
Emily took courses on computer applications
and html design during her freshman and
sophomore years. She loves looking up new
cell phone apps. Her main interest is in
hardware and electrical engineering. She likes
designing circuits and even soldering the
circuit board. It is no wonder that her family
and friends go to her to get things fixed. Emily
plans to get a master’s degree in electrical and
computer engineering. Her dream career is to
create the latest and best in technology – like
her hero, Steve Jobs.
Emily Kadavy
York, Nebraska
York High School
Nebraska & SW Iowa Affiliate Award
Celebration
2012 Nebraska & SW Iowa Affiliate
Award Winners
Berkley Lyman
Berkley was selected as a runner up for the
Papillion, Nebraska
national NCWIT Aspiration in Computing
Papillion-La Vista Senior High School Award. She is actively involved in robotics and
has attended the VEX World Robotics
Competition with her team – and she was the
only girl in the group. Berkley has experience
working with a variety of software including
AutoCAD, Alice, Visual Basic and Photoshop.
Berkley’s interests combine both technology
and arts. She has performed in theatrical
productions, won awards for painting and
writing, and is currently learning Russian.
Berkley wants to have a career in information
assurance, but that is just her short-term goal.
Her long-term ambition is to keep on learning
new skills to continue reinventing herself.
Karlee Schwisow
Tobias, Nebraska
Meridian High School
Karlee has a passion for working with
technology-related applications. As a senior,
she helped design the school’s Web page.
She won first place in Database Design and
Applications at the State Leadership
Conference and continued to the national
level, where she ranked third. In her role as
assistant to her school’s computer technician,
Karlee is always busy fixing computers. Karlee
would like to be a teacher and impart her
excitement of computers and technology to
others. She hopes this will start a train of
knowledge from her students to others and so
on to the whole world.
Nebraska & SW Iowa Affiliate Award
Celebration
2012 Nebraska & SW Iowa Affiliate
Award Winners
Grace Siy
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha North High School
Grace has been creating Power Point slides
since she was eight years old. From second
grade onward, she has been using computers
in her schoolwork. Grace was selected to
attend the Information Technology in
Workplace conference, where she and her
friends put together a video of their vision of
life in 2017. She was involved in a project for
the Society of American Military Engineers to
develop ID cards with RFID tags that would
automate activities like paying for lunch or
checking out books from the library. Grace
plans to pursue her interest in computers
through college to get her dream job of
working with advanced technology.
Kat was introduced to computers at a very
young age and she created her first HTML
layout when she was just nine years old. She
is interested in Photoshop and uses her
knowledge to create Christmas cards and
interesting photos that she sends to
competitions. She studied Visual Basic in her
sophomore year and will be learning Java
programming. Kat is keeping her future
options open, but she knows that her future
will involve learning more about computer
science. She hopes to help her father in his
software company and follow his footsteps
and become a successful business woman.
Katherine Slump
Omaha, Nebraska
V.J. and Angela Skutt Catholic
High School
Nebraska & SW Iowa Affiliate Award
Celebration
2012 Nebraska & SW Iowa Affiliate
Award Runners Up
Deirdre Burgdorf
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha North High School
Deirdre is interested in all aspects of computer
science. She likes building computers from scratch
using basic hardware units. She has used Audacity
to record services in her church. She is working on
robotics and is currently poised to learn
programming using Python. Last year she
designed flash games using Scratch, and she was
so good at it that she was called the “scratch
queen” of her computer graphics class. Through
that class, she also discovered that she loves
logical reasoning aspects of programming and she
has started planning for a career in computing.
Dominique Edwards
Omaha, Nebraska
Central High School
Dominique uses technology extensively via her
Android and laptop. As the captain of her school’s
cheerleading squad, she has helped them become
digital, creating a movie of all their cheers and a
“scrapbook movie” for all the girls in her squad.
Dominique uses her expertise in computers to help
her mother keep accounts electronically. She
wants to become an accountant herself – a career
goal that was influenced by her interest in math
and computer science. Dominique’s dream is to
create a completely interactive online accounting
firm to help people manage their finances easily.
Ellan has been interested in and taken many
different courses in technology in her high school.
She and her friends used Adobe Premiere Pro to
create a video of her hometown, which won first
place in the CYN Summit video contest. Ellan is in
charge of updating and maintaining her school’s
Web site. She feels that today’s world is very
dependent on technology. Ellan plans for a career
in agriculture or business and knows that the
computer skills she learned at school and her
interest in learning new technology will help her in
this goal.
Ellan Hasenkamp
Beemer, Nebraska
West Point High School
Nebraska & SW Iowa Affiliate Award
Celebration
2012 NCWIT Aspirations in Computing
Educator Award
Ms. Therese Laux
Omaha North High
Magnet School
Therese Laux is a facilitator, collaborator,
innovator, and creativity entrepreneur at Omaha
North High Magnet School. She has both founded
and developed the school’s Music and Media
Technology Program. Therese believes in
embracing today’s technology to facilitate creative
learning opportunities for all students. To be a
student in her classroom community is an
adventure in discovering one’s passion and
potential. Students in her program have earned
awards from the National School Boards
Association, Fort Omaha Film Conference,
Nebraska Educational Technology Association,
Apple Digital Media Competition, and others.
Therese considers herself a lifelong learner and is
appreciative of the outstanding educational
opportunities she has received at the University of
Nebraska at Omaha, University of NebraskaLincoln, Temple University, and through other, less
formal environments. She has shared her views on
creativity,
technology,
and
education
at
conferences across the nation including National
Educational Computing Conference, National
School Boards Association Technology + Learning
Conference, and Magnet Schools of America. Ms.
Laux is humbled and proud to be an Apple
Distinguished Educator (2007), a “Best Buy
Teacher Award” recipient (2009), AIM Institute K12 Technology Educator of the Year (2009), ITW
Educator of the Year (2009), and a Fulbright‐Hays
Seminar Abroad delegate (2010, Africa).
Nebraska & SW Iowa Affiliate Award
Celebration
2012 National Affiliate Award Sponsors
The NCWIT Award for Aspirations in Computing Affiliate Program
is sponsored by the Motorola Foundation.
The Nebraska & SW Iowa Affiliate is grateful for the additional
support provided by the Motorola Solutions Foundation to support the
first Nebraska & SW Iowa Affiliate Award.
Nebraska & SW Iowa Affiliate
Award Sponsors