Hello, Allen School undergrads!
I hope your first couple weeks of Autumn have gone well.
I’d like to introduce myself. As a member of the Allen School advising team, I work alongside your advisors, but I focus on projects related to diversity and inclusion: broadening interest in CS through K-12 outreach, promoting an inclusive community, and helping make our policies and programs equitable. I work with a lot of student leaders, including our K-12 outreach Ambassadors, ACM-W, the Student Advisory Council, our new Q++ organization supporting LGBTQ undergrads. I also work with the Allen School Diversity Committee and many other people across the Allen School.
We also rely on you to make our program inclusive! This includes welcoming your peers, contributing through student leadership roles, and letting us know where we can improve. To quote Allen School Director Hank Levy, “The most important thing we can do to promote inclusiveness is to listen to the people we want to support and to respond in tangible ways to the needs of students. The leadership of the Allen School believes that all students have the potential to be interested in computer science, and we believe that our ongoing efforts to promote an inclusive community help students of all backgrounds and identities succeed.”
If you’re interested in supporting diversity in the Allen School, being active in your student organizations is a great option. Many of you already do other things to support an inclusive community: volunteering as a tutor or a mentoring new students, for example, contribute to a supportive culture in the Allen School.
Some students may also be interested in one of these email lists:
New email list for people who identify as a member of an underrepresented group*:
This list is used to share opportunities and resources for undergrads who identify with groups that are often underrepresented in tech.
https://mailman.cs.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/diverse-opportunities
* “underrepresented” can mean different things, but most opportunities are intended for students who are: Black, African American, Latinx, Hispanic, Native American, Pacific Islander, Southeast Asian, LGBTQ, students with disabilities, and students from lower-income and socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds.
Undergraduate women’s email list:
This list is used to share opportunities and resources for aimed at women and gender diversity in tech.
https://mailman.cs.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/ugradswomen
On a personal note, I was not interested in “diversity issues” when I was younger. I became more aware of social inequalities late in college and in grad school, and I felt education was the best place for me to help improve opportunities for all people. While many of you are already active in supporting diversity and inclusion, I know that others feel like I used to: you may think these issues are not personally relevant, or that we talk too much about diversity. If you feel this way, I want to say that my job in the Allen School still serves you. I believe strongly that the best “diversity” work is that which has a positive overall impact on our whole community — in ways that benefits everyone. I hope you’ll see the benefits of this work now, or when you reflect on your UW experience later.
Thanks, and happy Autumn!
Raven
RAVEN AVERY
Assistant Director – Diversity & Outreach
Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering
ravena@cs.uw.edu