workshops
connect&compute is hosting summer workshops! workshop sessions will be from 2-4 pst, and the speaker series will be from 2-3 pst. workshops are FREE, but we request that students that have the financial capability to donate $5-10 at this link. 25% of donations will be given to the black movement-law project, supporting liberation by helping build the legal infrastructure necessary to protect emerging local movements. 75% will be used to purchase technology for underprivileged students this upcoming school year. we will email all zoom links and info needed one week prior to the workshop for those that sign up!
graphic design for beginners
aanya arora
june 27th, 2020
aanya will be leading a workshop on the basics of graphic design using a free alternative to photoshop called gimp. aanya is an incoming senior at dougherty valley high school in san ramon, california. she is very passionate about the arts, and since her childhood, she has always shown interest in pursuing them as a career. she enjoys painting, sketching, theater, writing, fashion design, and pretty much anything in that area! additionally, she is very passionate about the world around her, and runs a nonprofit with 3 peers that strives to make environmental change. she enjoys designing apparel and graphics for them, and has been learning graphic design for over a year now! as a creative, she loves passing on her knowledge and watching those around her bloom. she enjoys being around others, especially children, and spends her summers working with elementary schoolers at a summer camp! aanya is stoked to be working with connect&compute!
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scratch for
beginners
erin pan, sachi patel, jade koo
& katie cheng
july 11th, 2020
sachi, jade, katie, and erin will be leading a workshop for the famous browser-based coding site, geared towards beginners! they are all from the bay area, california.
- sachi is an incoming sophomore at quarry lane and has recently become interested in coding with arduino software and working with online coding programs due to her participation in both engineering and cs classes and clubs at school.
- jade is an incoming junior at woodside high school, and she became interested in computer science through summer camps such as idtech and online programs. she has taken several computer science courses including apcs and is also the president of the girls who code chapter at her school.
- erin is an incoming sophomore at dougherty valley high school. she has been very interested in coding from a young age, attending multiple summer camps including idtech and a scratch summer camp at a local community college. adding on, she is learning python and is currently designing and coding a mobile app.
- katie will be a sophomore at dublin high school this coming year, and she was first introduced to the world of coding through a scratch workshop just like this! since then, she has spent a couple summers delving into python.
they all look forward to working with connect & compute on this summer workshop!
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coding with minecraft
gargi nigam
july 18th, 2020
gargi will be leading a workshop on coding with minecraft. in this workshop, students will be introduced to artificial intelligence and be able to code a solution to the important issues of climate change and deforestation. gargi is an incoming senior at dougherty valley high school in san ramon, california. she was first exposed to programming through minecraft and enjoyed the real life applications of coding. in her free time, gargi enjoys the outdoors and works with children regularly as a ski instructor, swim instructor, and lifeguard. she is passionate about the education and well-being of others, and strives to make an impact on the world she lives in. gargi considers herself lucky to be a part of c&c’s growth in the past year, and can’t wait to see where c&c goes this summer!
photo editing with gimp
shruti adusumilli
july 25th, 2020
shruti will be leading a workshop on the basics of photo editing using a free alternative to photoshop called gimp. shruti is an incoming second year political science and computer science student at uc davis. she’s been pursuing portrait photography as a hobby and as a business over the past four years and always loves shooting with new people and experimenting with interesting concepts and editing styles. you can see her work on instagram. photography started out as a fun way to pass time but it has now become something that brings her great creative fulfillment. outside of photography, shruti runs a non-profit organization with three other friends and interns at a redistricting firm. shruti loves helping others and is very excited to work with the amazing folks at connect&compute!
photo editing with
adobe sketch
riley wania
august 3rd, 2020
riley will be leading a workshop on the basics of photo editing with a free mobile program called adobe sketch. riley is an incoming junior at francis howell central high school in st. louis, missouri. she has been pursuing portrait and sports photography for a little over 2 years and loves seeing the reactions people have towards her photographs, as well as experimenting with new softwares to find the best way to edit them. riley also creates ready to use filters for pictures, called presets, that she shares with her followers for free. outside of photography, riley focuses on creating the best future possible for herself, and her community. she plays an active role in her school's volunteering club. riley loves helping others to succeed, and is looking forward to her work with connect&compute!
tynker coding for
beginners
emma hultz & kami eslinger
august 5th, 2020
emma and kami will be leading a workshop on the basics of coding using a free website called tynker. emma and kami are both incoming seniors at francis howell central high school in st. louis, missouri. they are both very passionate about coding and have participated in several different coding workshops since their freshman year of high school. outside of coding, emma and kami are both involved in many different clubs and sports at their high school. through coding, emma and kami have developed excellent problem solving and critical thinking skills. they are both excited to share all they know about coding through the use of tynker and everything it has to offer.
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python for kids
sanjita pamidimukkala
august 8th, 2020
sanjita will be leading a workshop on the basics of python programming. at her workshop, you will learn the fundamentals of python as well as learn how to program your own basic rock, paper, scissors game. sanjita is an incoming senior at dougherty valley high school in san ramon, california. she is very passionate about stem and social activism. in the field of social activism, sanjita is particularly passionate about bridging financial and gender inequities. she enjoys programming and research, but also public speaking and debate! as one of connect&compute’s founders, sanjita is committed to leading change in the world around her. sanjita especially loves working with kids whether it be teaching speech and debate throughout the year, joining 5th graders for outdoor ed, or leading workshops weekly with c&c. she is excited to see c&c’s impact this summer!
speaker series
phyllis fang
product marketing manager at uber
july 2nd, 2020
phyllis is a global product marketing manager at uber where she focuses on improving safety for riders and drivers. she's launched features such as the ability to text to 911, on trip reporting and most recently, uber's new door-to-door safety standard, elevating the health and safety of rideshare in our current covid world. phyllis grew up in california, began her career in fashion and e-commerce, and received her mba from esmt berlin before joining uber. join her to hear more about marketing in technology and learn about her journey!
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azine davoudzadeh
founder of virtual reality foundation xr edu/cs teacher
june 29th, 2020
azine davoudzadeh is an educator, speaker and thought leader in the xr education space. she is the founder of xr edu, a foundation dedicated to researching and building xr tools for education and hosting high quality events, bridging the gap between education and technology. she is the recipient of the national champion award for samsung solve for tomorrow 2020, earning her school $100,000 in technology. she researched how virtual reality affects middle school girls’ future career choices and learning outcomes in writing for her masters in science. currently, she teaches computer science at dougherty valley high school. join her to hear more about the upcoming field of virtual reality and her role as an educator in the space!
priscilla wang
founder of girlstalktech and ui developer at jp morgan
july 6th, 2020
priscilla wang leads a multi-faceted life as a software developer, educator, and pageant girl. she is passionate about diversity and inclusion in high-tech, and has focused her efforts on educational initiatives for women and underrepresented minorities. priscilla’s most recent project is girls talk tech: a youtube series which aims to inspire a new generation of engineers by showcasing amazing women who work in technology. she has also volunteered her time at the national science foundation, corporate community outreach initiatives, and university hackathons, where she has mentored aspiring engineers and scientists on how to build the technologies of tomorrow. priscilla is a proud graduate of columbia university and scripps college. she is currently working at jp morgan on digital markets technologies and has previously worked at high-tech startups in silicon valley and taiwan. she currently works on user interface software development.
learn more about priscilla’s work at girlstalk.tech and attend her workshop to hear about her work in tech!
parashar shah
senior program manager at microsoft & author
july 16th, 2020
parashar is a senior program manager at microsoft where he leads various projects in the azure ai platform group. he has worked on projects in 10+ countries across 4 continents. he has studied mba and be & filed for 5 patents. he co-founded a carpool startup in india.
his first book, 'hands-on machine learning with azure: build powerful models with cognitive machine learning and artificial intelligence', was published in nov 2018. his second book 'practical automated machine learning on azure' was published in oct 2019. in his free time, he likes to listen to audiobooks and does drone photography/videography.
learn more about parashar’s journey and his artificial intelligence work at microsoft during his workshop!
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logan evasco
freelance designer and environmental activist
july 9th, 2020
logan evasco is a social impact designer, community organizer, and environmental activist. she’s the founder of climate creative, a non-profit built around the tenants of creative professional development, community empowerment, and environmental justice, as well as a freelance design director with 10+ years of experience designing for technology companies, non-profits, small businesses, and government agencies. logan is active throughout the bay
area as a community partner with the sfsu design department, as a steering committee member of the climate emergency mobilization task force, as a member of the committee to re-elect cheryl davila, and as a dog owner and recreational crafter.
learn more about how logan uses design and tech for social activism at her workshop!
joel flory
co-founder and ceo
at vsco
july 23rd, 2020
as the co-founder and ceo of vsco, joel leads the company on its mission to help everybody fall in love with their own creativity. joel and his co-founder greg lutze combined their passions for photography and technology to build vsco in 2011. vsco is a photography mobile app, allowing people to edit photos/videos creatively and share them with the world. prior to founding vsco, joel was a successful commercial and wedding photographer. as a bay area native, joel is deeply involved in the local oakland community.
learn more about joel’s unconventional journey to entrepreneurship and what it’s like being a ceo in the tech industry!