Juniors Sumedha Attanti and Maddy Phillips received awards in the National Center for Women and Information Technology’s “Aspirations in Computing” program.

NCWIT is a non-profit organization chartered in 2004 by the National Science Foundation. The organization is a “collective impact” effort: a community of over 850 prominent corporations, academic institutions, government agencies and non-profits working to increase girls’ and women’s participation in technology and computing.

To compete for the award, applicants must submit their responses to several short answer questions — why the competitor has an interest in technology and how she could make a difference — and a letter of recommendation.

Phillips said her interest in technology stems from wanting to create a greater ability for women to enter and progress in such fields. Attanti, who said she hopes to go into a medicine-related career, said that technology is important for any position.

This was Phillips’ first time entering a technology competition, and she said she was surprised to receive an award.

“[Finding out] was very surprising. I knew I was going to be competing with thousands of other girls across the country and I think even internationally,” Phillips said. “They told me I was one of 300 girls selected to be an honorable mention and I’m one of 13 to be a regional affiliate winner.”

Unlike Phillips, this was Attanti’s second time applying for the award. She received honorable mentions both years, and attributes her success to her parents, who both work in technology.

“My dad was talking to me about it and I was like, ‘why not? Just go for it,’” Attanti said.

Attanti said she feels that the opportunity is important for promoting the role of women in technology-related fields.

“It’s really cool because [NCWIT has] all these programs across the country that run these after-school programs [for girls] and things like that,” Attanti said.

In addition to receiving engraved awards for their endeavors, Phillips and Attanti can now access internships and scholarships through the NCWIT program, as well as sponsorships, technology resources and a networking community of young women interesting in technology.

“I think this is very important for women in technology to go for this and have a gateway into whatever they want to do in college or whatever they want to do outside of school,” Phillips said.

Erik Amerikaner, a technology teacher, has been encouraging his students to apply for this award for five years. For students who chose to do so, he has written letters of recommendation for their applications.

Amerikaner said he was very proud of Attanti and Phillips for receiving their awards.

“I want female students to be aware of the potential to be in information technology, to be in computer science,” Amerikaner said. “There’s been an underrepresentation of females in computer science and information technology, and the industry is growing so huge … awards and competitions like NCWIT recognize and get women involved in that industry.”

Attanti said that the NCWIT program inspired her to become involved in technology and help make a positive impact on the world after meeting so many people who were significantly impacting their communities.

“When I [received an honorable mention] last year, I was able to go to the awards ceremony and it had all this super cool tech stuff, like robot puppies, and I talked to this one woman who started her own business by creating an app that allowed college students to access textbooks, make lists, and find good food near them,” Attanti said. “I was like, ‘wow, I could contribute to that someday.’”

Phillips said she believes that the competition is a great way of making a difference for women nationwide.

“Applying for this award, I know I’d be making a difference not only in the technology community, but [for] women [as well],” Phillips said.