This past weekend, CITRIS hosted the 7th annual ¡Valle! Get Your Start in Tech! workshop. Thirty-two motivated students from UC Merced and Merced College spent two days building their communication and networking skills, exploring career paths, finding mentors, and gaining hands-on coding experience with Google Earth Engine and drones. Designed to strengthen students’ confidence and sense of belonging in STEM, ¡Valle! expands access to research, graduate school pathways, and tech careers for historically underrepresented students. A huge thank-you to our organizers, mentors, and speakers—this event was made possible through State of California workforce development funding to CITRIS and the Banatao Institute.
Organizing Committee: Erin Hestir, Hanna Bartram, Eleanor King
Speakers: Jill Finlayson, Kimberly Gibson, Leigh Bernacchi, Linda J. Garcia
Panelists: De’Liz Amador, Elizabeth Amankwah, LaMonika Dent, Morgan Lavenstein Bendall
Mentors: Shannon Lovgren, MSc., Sarah Kurtz, Alec Chan-Golston, Shijia Pan, Julie Shapiro, Xiaofan Yu, Joshua Viers, David Watkins, Senior Adepoju, Fabjola Kasaj, Shobha Khanna.