Center for Women and Information Technology: CWIT Scholar Cohort Graduates: May 2006

First CWIT Scholar Cohort Graduates: May 2006

CWIT Celebrates Its First Graduating Class of Scholars!

CWIT Scholars at graduation
The Center for Women & Information Technology (CWIT) at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County is pleased to announce the graduation of its first class of CWIT Scholars. On Thursday, May 25, 2006, six of seven seniors received their diplomas at 1st Mariner Arena in downtown Baltimore (the seventh will graduate in December). Dr. Solomon Snyder, Distinguished Service Professor of Neuroscience, Pharmacology and Psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, delivered the commencement address.

Congratulations to CWIT Scholars Payal Aggarwal (AT&T Scholar), Heidi Brueckner (AT&T Scholar), Sumita Das (AT&T Scholar), Lindsay Mannchen (AT&T and SAIC Scholar), Samantha Moffatt (Verizon Scholar), Natalie Podrazik (AT&T Scholar), and Candice Scarborough (Verizon Scholar)!

Several of the graduating Scholars received awards for their excellent performance. Natalie Podrazik and Candice Scarborough were honored for Outstanding Achievement in Computer Science, while Lindsay Mannchen received a similar award as Outstanding Senior in Information Systems. Lindsay and Natalie also received the Outstanding Undergraduate Alumni Award. Heidi Brueckner was cited as an Honors College Graduate. Also, Dana Douglas, a member of the second cohort of CWIT Scholars, received the Feldman Family Award for Citizenship.

CWIT celebrated the Scholars' accomplishments with their families and friends of CWIT during a reception aboard the Clipper City Tall Ship in the Inner Harbor on Wednesday, May 24, 2006.

Aboard the Clipper City Tall Ship

These young women were the pioneers of the CWIT Scholars Program and invested much of their time and effort to help transform the program into a meaningful experience for all classes to follow. In the four years since these women began the program, CWIT has grown to include 31 Scholars and an affiliated student organization and has hosted four annual Computer Mania Day events.

So far, graduates have positions with Baltimore Gas and Electricity, General Electric Company, and Northrop Grumman Corporation. In addition, one Scholar plans to attend the Naval Postgraduate School after completing a summer internship with Microsoft Corporation.

More graduation photos

For More Information:

To learn more about applying to the CWIT Scholars Program, please contact the UMBC Office of Scholarships at (410) 455-3813 or email schl_info@umbc.edu.