Information Technology Highlights UMass Amherst Women in IT in Honor of Women’s History Month

In honor of Women's History Month, UMass Amherst Information Technology has launched a new feature on the UMass IT website, Celebrating Women in IT, highlighting profiles of women working in IT at UMass Amherst. The profiles include staff and student interns who have been nominated by their colleagues or supervisors.

The women profiled share the importance of curiosity, adaptability and confidence in tech-related industries, and offer valuable advice for the next generation of women looking to study, learn and work in IT fields.

"I love the puzzle-solving aspect of working with complex networks," says Jessa Clark, network engineer with UMass IT. "A mentor encouraged me to apply for a super computing fellowship for women, which I was awarded, and it completely changed my career and life."

Mila Lewis-Peinado, a senior undergraduate math major with a concentration in statistics and data science, is currently working as a research facilitation intern in IT with Research Data and Computing.

"I have always been interested in how people interact with technology, more specifically with data," Lewis-Peinado says. "A lot of my coursework has been analyzing and visualizing data, and I've been able to apply these skills a lot in my internship projects so far."

Amy Faut, senior database administrator for Administration and Finance Information Technology shares, "believe in yourself and advocate for you. Don't accept no for an answer, especially when you know you are right. Don't listen to anyone who says you can't do it."

To explore the profiles and learn more about their journeys and contributions, visit the UMass IT website. Nominations will continue to be accepted - and new profiles will be added - throughout the month of March.