Ada Lovelace Excellence Scholarship

"When I came for the applicant day I imagined myself as an amazing programmer, who would build a company that excelled at not only creating the most amazing innovation in Artificial Intelligence, but also giving young girls who had not seen anyone like them in Computer Science a reason to believe in themselves when they saw me. I spoke to one of the professors and she was delighted that I had decided to do Computer Science, explaining how in the recent years, the number of females in Computer Science had declined. When I told her that it was not uncommon for someone to challenge me about doing computer science with a reason that it was a male-dominated course, and how that increased my desire to do it, she told me about the scholarship and what it aims to do, so I applied. When I found out I got the scholarship I felt happy and surprised. I hope it will help me in my path to educate more young girls about how to follow their dreams and see what the future holds. It’s changed my mindset in a way that I am now more likely to do things that I have not done before. I’m more motivated to speak to people about the importance of diversity in science, especially in research. Just remember, it doesn’t matter if you are going to be the only female in the room, once you have mustered the courage to do what you believe in, only you can decide to quit pursuing it."

"I was fascinated by mathematics ever since I started primary school, leading to me focus on more technical subjects in school such as physics and chemistry. When I started high school in Romania, programming became a mandatory subject in my class. I was immediately fascinated by the problem-solving skills required and the range of projects I could solve. I participated in a couple of mathematics and coding competitions which I enjoyed, so I decided to pursue a Computer Science degree at University. My university advisor told me about the scholarship. I applied with their help and it was straightforward and easy. When I found out I got it, I was very excited! It boosted my confidence as there was a sense of recognition from the University towards my opinions and values which made me feel appreciated. There was certainly a financial relief too as many costs were incurred at the beginning of my student life. I recently graduated with first class honours and started my first graduate role with Amazon as a Software Development Engineer. The scholarship led me to be more confident in my views and to learn to speak up. I would love to see more young women encouraged to try programming, especially if they are naturally talented at mathematics. Know that there is immense support for everyone to learn to succeed – if you wish to. STEM can also be a career path where you can make an impact on the whole world. Own your career, only work where you feel impactful. There are plenty of teams, companies and opportunities waiting for you."