Scholarship for Women of Color in Technology

In September 2020, the Scholarship for Women of Color in Technology was established by Uzma Ghazanfar with the Winona State University Foundation. The scholarship will support and encourage women of color (including international students), who are majoring in Computer Science or Data Science, along with Mathematics and Statistics.

Criteria
Each recipient must be a:

a. woman of color enrolled full-time and in good standing at Winona State University (minimum of 12 credits per semester, fall and spring)
b. Computer Science, Data Science or Mathematics & Statistics major
c. Sophomore, junior or senior student

As part of the application process, candidates will respond to the following:
• Please describe the way in which you will help women’s education in the technology field after you graduate and settle into your career.

Background and Motivation
Uzma Ghazanfar graduated from WSU in December 2018 with a major in Computer Science and minor in Data Science. She currently works at Deloitte as a Consultant in Data Engineering.

“I come from Pakistan, and it is hard for women in Pakistan to leave the country and study abroad. My sisters, who also graduated from WSU, and I were lucky because our father was not one to be dissuaded by our culture. He pushed us forward in our education so that we could stand on our own two feet and be independent.

A lot of other women do not get the same opportunity, either because of cultural deterrents or because of financial ones. While I cannot change culture overnight, I can help to take out or at least alleviate some of the hinderance caused by the lack of financial security for women of color, including those considering studying in the U.S. Also, while more and more women are studying natural, empirical, and softer science, there are very few women in the fields of formal sciences such as Computer Science, Math, Stats, and Data Science. My aim is to change this one woman at a time.” Uzma Ghazanfar