DSU student attends Grace Hopper celebration

September 26, 2019

Seema Bhandari, a master in analytics student from Nepal, received a Grace Hopper Celebration scholarship to attend the Grace Hopper Celebration, the world’s largest gathering of women in computing, in October.

“I love computer science,” Bhandari said. “It has been my passion since 2014.”

Bhandari did her undergraduate studies in computer engineering. “Since then I’ve started exploring more about technology,” she said.

Prior to beginning her master’s degree, Bhandari worked as a computer teacher instructing students in grades 4 to 7 at Nepal Police School, a school for children of police personnel and civilian children. She hopes to continue to educate women and girls in the field of technology and encourage them to become leaders as well.               

“Seema is one of my most talented students in our Master of Science in Analytics (MSA) program,” said Dr. David Zeng, assistant professor/research of information systems. Zeng wrote a recommendation for Bhandari to attend the conference. “She is passionate about learning data science and using data analytics skills to serve under-represented communities.”                                                           

Zeng shared that “Seema will contribute significantly to the conference as a future data scientist and the conference and associated networking opportunities will help her reach her goals even faster.”

The Grace Hopper Celebration invites women from around the world together to highlight the contributions of women in computing. There were over 20,000 attendees from 78 countries in 2018 and 25,000 expected at the 2019 event.

Bhandari is excited to listen to keynote speakers, presentations, and attend a job fair at the conference.

“This is the biggest opportunity for me to grow,” Bhandari said.