After countless email blasts, social media posts, conference calls, emails, meetings, and lots of hard work, I saw GirlCon 2019 finally come to life on Saturday, June 15th. The second annual Chicago-based conference was held at Google’s Chicago office and welcomed over 250 high school girls and 30 industry professionals to a day filled with inspiration and collaboration. Attendees learned how technology is embedded in every career field, hearing from empowering keynote speakers and engaging with fellow attendees during breakout sessions.
I attended the incredible event’s inaugural conference last year (see my earliest blog post), and I was so inspired by its message that I applied to be on the planning team. I became a member of the close-knit CORE team of 6 girls that coordinated the venue, logistics, social media, speakers, food, sponsorship, and many more key components that made the event possible. Along with the national, ambassador, and design teams, we put together a truly inspiring event.
My main roles on the CORE team included outreach through social media and email, coordination of workshop leaders, keynote speakers, and sponsors, and planning of logistics such as the schedule and venue. I worked closely with the rest of the team to exchange ideas and plan the special day. We created and spread a hashtag this year, #RaiseYourHand, to encourage girls to share their voice and enter the conversation about getting females involved with STEM. We strive to continue this movement far beyond the event, showing girls that they have amazing potential and can achieve anything they aspire to accomplish.
See the photos and video below for an inside look at GirlCon 2019:
