Happy Thanksgiving 2013 from KCWiT! It has been a great year and we have a lot to be thankful for! This is what KCWiT is thankful for:
Jennifer Wadella: I’m thankful for Kansas City’s amazing technology community full of passionate, brilliant people who support each other and push each other to grow. I’m thankful for a fantastic mentor and role model who helped me gain confidence as a developer and has taken the time to help me grow in my craft as well as in leadership. And I’m thankful for such a talented board of women who have helped me launch my vision for Kansas City Women in Technology.
Erica Birkman: I’m thankful for the endless resources that are available to us because of technology. We have the answers to any questions we may encounter and the capability of teaching ourselves new skills from our couches. We can open any door we ever imagined and I am thankful for all of those possibilities.
Josepha Haden: I am thankful for the inspiring students that I get to work with. Seeing young adults become aware of the possibilities that training in and careers focused on technology can provide is one of the best parts of what we do. I’m thankful they inspire me to help my community, to be a better role model, and to continue my own education.
Jennifer Funk: I’m thankful to be living in an age when it’s possible to have a dream or be inspired by someone else’s dream, and be able to help make it a reality through technology and teamwork. I’m also thankful for the risk-taking, anything-is-possible spirit that this kind of culture encourages in myself and others. It makes work and life fun.
Melanie Haas: I am so thankful for the committed companies and organizations we have in Kansas City that have made a choice to support STEM initiatives, women in tech, and the next generation of technologists. They give us time, volunteers, mentors, spaces in which to meet, they lend support through social media, they even donate snacks and beer! We’re especially blessed to have a organizations that are wholly committed to this work on a daily basis. I’m thankful for all of the great people who recognize that fostering innovation is the way forward for the Silicon Prairie.
Tina Peterson: I am thankful for the opportunities that have been made possible because of the amazing women who came before me in STEM, and broke through stereotypes, endured objections and changed perceptions. Access to STEM and what it represents is powerful and it is what these women gave to us by challenging the status quo. To those that are role models and mentors, I am infinitely grateful. (I may reword this a bit)
Merritt Watson: I’m thankful for all the opportunities I have around me because of technology. The answers to any question one may have is already available and all one has to do is search for it. I’m thankful for the real life human interaction that technology is able to bring to people. Family many miles away are now just a click away. Anyone with something to say now has a platform no matter where they are. Great thoughts can now spread like wildfire and fluffy LoL cats can brighten my day.
Alyssa Murfey: I’m thankful for the network and community we have among the technology / marketing community in Kansas City. I have been welcomed to organizations with open arms. I have been overwhelmed by the willingness of professionals I admire to help, mentor and offer resources myself and my peers. I feel that I’m constantly learning and growing when I’m among these great organizations and professionals. Kansas City is truly a great place to be a young professional.
Andrea Moran I am thankful that I get to work in an environment where I am respected and around colleagues that are some of the most creative and interesting people on the planet. I am also grateful for a career that is a calling and that I get to wake up and work on projects that I am passionate about. As the years go by, I reflect on all of the coffee meetings, interviews, training sessions, networking events, and think about all of the people I’ve encountered. The people I am around, like the women in KC Women in Tech, are like beacons. They teach me lessons, expose me to new tools and skills, and are always aspiring to learn more and for that, I’m thankful.