Oct 31, 2022
Welcome (back) to WCS!
Written by: Reva Jethwani, Hela Kasibhotla, and Emma Maxwell
What is WCS?:
WCS stands for Women in Computer Science. We are a registered student organization under the Computer Science Department at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. As a non-profit, educational student group, we host corporate networking events, professional development workshops, personal growth seminars, and member socials. Our office is open as a safe space for members to seek advice, socialize, or study.
All are welcome, irrespective of gender identity, major, and career interests. As long as you support our mission, please join us! You do not have to be a woman or in computer science to join!
Our Mission:
Our mission is to uplift and encourage women and other underrepresented groups in their pursuit of degrees, skills, and careers in the fields of technology and computer science. We aim to provide a strong network of support systems and friendships to aid women and other underrepresented groups seeking a future in the technology industry. The number of women pursuing degrees in computer science has been steadily decreasing, so WCS strives to create an environment of inclusivity and support that our members can rely on.
Meet Our Officers!
WCS Co Presidents
Noopur is senior in CS + Philosophy the; WCS was the first RSO she ever joined! It provided her with many long-lasting friendships, technical skills, and leadership skills!
Rachel is a junior is CS; due to entering college during COVID, WCS events helped Rachel find a community that was very supportive and welcoming!
Their role is to oversee all operations in the club, manage each committee and their respective officers, and keep everything in our organization in order.
Secretary
Sailaja is a sophomore in CS; she wanted to find a community of people within her major that she could learn from and with as well as be friends with, and WCS was perfect for that!
Her role is to maintain all important records, timing, and administration of WCS and WCS events.
Treasurer
Anushree is a junior in CS; WCS provided her with an inclusive community for both professional and personal growth!
Her role is to take care of all financial transactions and manages the WCS financial accounts.
Design Chair
Ellie is a Sophomore in CS; she joined WCS because of the community it provides as the people are some of the friendliest, most talented, and most supportive people she has ever met; she is thankful for the constant encouragement that she is surrounded by!
Her main responsibility is creating any and all art and designs for social media, the WCS website, and any WCS-affiliated event promos.
Corporate Co-Chairs
Aarthi is a Sophomore in CS; she joined because WCS was a great way to network with others, improve her technical skills, and make lots of new friends!
Ananya is a Junior in CS; she is in WCS because it was a great way to network with others, improve her technical skills, and make lots of new friends!
Their role is to manage communication with and facilitation of any and all corporate sponsors and guest speakers, as well as secure funding for WCS through our sponsors.
Explorations/Infrastructure Co-Chairs
Grace is a sophomore in CS; she joined WCS because she loves how supportive the WCS community is and how she is able to meet and work with so many incredible people through the organization!
Shreya is a sophomore in CS; Shreya feels that WCS offers so many helpful resources and opportunities to learn something new as well as make new friends, which is why she is a part of this organization!
Their role is to supervise all technical events like Code Ada, Dev-Ada, various CS workshops, and interview preparation workshops, as well as oversee the management of the WCS website!
Mentoring Co-Chairs
Anushri is a sophomore in CS and she joined WCS because it helped Anushri explore her interests in CS, so she wanted to give back to this valuable resource and help students at UIUC discover the power of CS!
Rayna is a junior in CS + Philosophy and she joined because she feels that it is important to support women and other marginalized groups in STEM, and that WCS provides a welcoming and caring community that does just that!
Their job is to run the Bits and Bytes Mentorship Program, mock behavioral interviews, and internship panels.
Outreach Co-chairs
Dahyun is a sophomore in Material Science and Engineering; she joined because she believes WCS is a place for CS lovers and that WCS has many meaningful events that would create precious college memories!
Nikhila is a sophomore in CS; when she attended ChicTech in high school, Nikhila loved the sense of community in WCS, and even now, she loves all the great events!
Outreach co-chairs are responsible for heading all outreach initiatives like high school visits, ChicTech, CS info panels, and other outreach resources.
Social Co-chairs
Meghan is a junior in Stats and CS; she joined WCS because she loves the community of smart, ambitious, and supportive women that was always welcoming and comforting to her in freshman year!
Saloni is a sophomore in CS; she joined WCS because it has provided her with an inclusive community that has so many different opportunities and resources to help her, and others, succeed in fun ways!
Their role is to oversee all big events, social media, and the medium page.
Meet Our Committees:
Corporate
WCS Corporate Committee is in charge of organizing events with external companies to provide members the opportunity to network, learn new skills, and gain personal insight into the computer science field. It is also the corporate committee’s responsibility to secure sponsors and funding. Some methods through which the corporate committee does this is through finding sponsors for general meetings and organizing workshops with various companies (resume review, interview advice, career opportunities). A few of this committee’s notable events this year include workshops with Google, Uber and Stripe
Outreach
The Outreach Committee is committed to encouraging young women to pursue computer science education with their initiatives such as ChicTech, High School Visits, Explore CS Series, and CS + X Panel. With these programs, they hope to reach more women in high school and help them get interested in tech!
Mentoring
The Mentoring Committee focuses on supporting and guiding Freshmen, Sophomores, and transfer students in CS here at Illinois. Through the Bits and Bytes Program, members are grouped into families based on common interests. “Bytes” serve as family heads and resources for their “Bits”, answering any and all questions they may have about computer science, life at Illinois, and beyond!
Infrastructure
The Infrastructure Committee is responsible for maintaining and revamping the WCS website. They make sure to update the event calendar, incorporate any website change requests, report past events, link to our sponsors, and generally, keep the website is looking its best!
Explorations
The Explorations Committee is our technical-based committee, providing resources for WCS members like technical workshops, technical and behavioral interview prep, managing our Question Box to answer your questions, and more! They also oversee Dev-Ada, our annual project cycle, and Code Ada, WCS’s all-female/non-binary fall hackathon.
Social
The Social Committee plans events and initiatives to bring the WCS community closer and strives to create a fun, inclusive space for all! The committee organizes member socials, banquets, and fundraisers (they baked all the delicious treats for our Open Office Bake Sale!). In addition to events, Social ideas and creates social media content to better interact with members online and show off what WCS is doing! Fun Fact: they are reviving the WCS Medium page!
Get Involved with WCS!
WCS is for everyone! Though the name might suggest it’s exclusive to women in computer science, WCS welcomes students from all backgrounds and of all identities. Check out the Google Calendar for our events — we have multiple nearly every week! All are welcome.
Contact Us
- Stay in touch!
- Sign up for our newsletter! — weekly updates!
- Check out our website!
- Join our slack!
- Join our FB group!
- Follow us on Instagram! @illinoiswcs
- Email us: contact@illinoiswcs.org
- Siebel 0211 for Open Office (Mon — Fri: 2:00pm — 5:00pm) — here, any member can come and chat, study, or seek advice. It is a safe space for all!
- To join Remind: text @g2ed79 to to 81010 — this will send you text updates!
