14
November
2024
Internet2 Welcomes Six Inclusivity Scholarship Recipients for the 2024 Technology Exchange
By Taleitha McGuinnis - Program Manager, Affiliates & Federal Affiliates
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
Through the unwavering support of the Internet2 community, we are proud to announce the recipients of the Internet2 Inclusivity (I2I) Scholarship for the 2024 Technology Exchange (opens in a new window), held Dec. 9-13, in Boston, MA. The meaningful goal of growing the participation of women information technology professionals in the R&E community continues to flourish.
Each application and nomination cycle, the I2I Scholarship community review committee has had the pleasure and privilege of learning about the talented and inspiring women colleagues in IT. This year was no exception, with 17 outstanding candidates. The review committee was tasked with the difficult responsibility of selecting six I2I Scholarship recipients.
“It was an enlightening experience to serve on this cycle’s review committee,” said former I2I Scholarship recipient Jessica Krause, a business systems analyst at the University of Massachusetts. “It was extremely difficult to select only a few from a pool of exceptional candidates. However, it was heartening to see how the I2I team, review committee, and all the applicants care about continuing to foster a community based on inclusivity, mutual support, shared learning, and the importance of how much value each of our individual experiences bring.”
The 2024 Technology Exchange I2I Scholarship recipients are:
- Aaisha Davis, business transformation manager at Queens University of Charlotte
- Jela Stevens, network engineer at Georgia State University
- Julia Clark, IAM technical program manager at the University of Montana
- Shelby Williams, systems administrator at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR)
- Valerie Slujalkovsky Torchio, network engineer at the Rochester Institute of Technology
- Zhaneille Green, E-access librarian at Duke University
Read their bios to learn more about the I2I Scholarship recipients.
Supporting Career Development
A new opportunity offered to the I2I Scholarship recipients as part of their experience for TechEX 2024 is the chance to participate in the Poster Session (opens in a new window). We are excited to share that both Julia Clark and Zhaneille Green have elected to participate in this session. Both will get to develop and harness their presentation skills while connecting with attendees and sharing important projects their respective universities are focusing on.
Clark will share the hurdles the University of Montana has faced in implementing a new service, Okta, to simplify access to the university’s affiliated applications and services. Green will present Duke University’s library authentication journey and how it manages its extensive collection of electronic resources with different licensing conditions that establish access for varying user groups.
Come listen to Clark and Green at the Poster Sessions on Dec. 10 at TechEX 2024.
The I2I Scholarship recipients will also be recognized Tuesday, Dec. 10, at the I2I lunch session, “Creating Career Development & Growth Opportunities for a Diverse Workforce.”
This lunch session hosts a community panel discussion focused on career development and growth opportunities for diverse and underrepresented communities. How can we each lead from where we are in creating professional, economic, and social mobility for those who may experience fewer opportunities or encounter barriers to career advancement? Panelists will share personal experiences on overcoming impediments both as individuals and in their roles as organizational and community leaders.
Thank You to Our Sponsors
The I2I scholarships cover travel expenses, hotel accommodations, and event registration for Technology Exchange 2024. Funding for this year’s I2I Scholarships is made possible by industry sponsor GitLab (opens in a new window), ServiceNow (opens in a new window), Internet2 community member Northern Tier Network Consortium (NTNC), and Internet2. We are grateful for the continued support and generosity of the community to provide these important opportunities.
