WITonCampus, a subsection of WIT in Wisconsin, is a student organization designed to give women pursuing a career in the technology field an opportunity to network, serve in leadership roles and learn from guest speakers.
Heninger“WIT in Wisconsin is a group of a 150 business women who are part of 60 different organizations in the Fox Valley,” Monika Heninger, WITonCampus president, said. “WIT in Wisconsin is a great group for women because often times you will be working in a male dominated field. That’s the same for classrooms—you’ll walk in and there are 15 guys and 3 women, so WITonCampus is an opportunity for women in technology to network and talk about some of these issues.”
Ackerman“The ratio of men to women is getting smaller and smaller in the tech industry,” Emily Ackerman, a junior majoring in interactive Web management, said. “It’s really important for women to realize that we have a say and our voices matter.”
WITonCampus is open to all majors, with the goal of sharing technology with everyone because technology impacts all areas of business.
Fisher“WITonCampus is important because women are really underrepresented in tech careers, ” Madeline Fisher, a senior majoring in interactive Web management, said. “WIT serves as a mentorship group that empowers women to go into tech careers.”
One barrier to pursuing a career in technology women often have is not thinking they are qualified or smart enough, Heninger said.
“There are a lot of stereotypes we are trying to break,” Heninger said. “A lot of women think that they’re not smart enough for IT. You don’t have to be a scientist or super good at math to be in IT. A lot of people also think IT is only computer science, but it’s not. It’s all different kind of majors that come together to form IT.”
WITonCampus meets every Monday at 5:30 p.m. and hosts guest speakers, socials, as well as hands-on meetings working with new technology.
“Being able to play with new technology is not only a good opportunity to learn, but it is also a good skill to be able to take to an interview,” Heninger said. “It shows the interviewer that you have initiative to explore what is all out there.”
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