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Last summer, Kaila Hoskins, a junior computer science major, Celine Anong, a senior information systems major, and Madeline Rippin and Hallel Dereb, both senior computer science majors, took a one-week trip to Recife, Brazil. Like many college students on an international adventure, they toured the city, visited the beaches, sampled the cuisine, and connected with locals. But the trip was more purposeful than a standard vacation. The quartet had come to Brazil to spread UMBC-style support structures for women in technology to four Brazilian universities.

Carolyn Seaman, the director of the Center for Women in Technology (CWIT) at UMBC, organized the trip as part of a Fulbright Brazil Specialist grant-funded project. She collaborated with colleagues in Brazil to establish a set of programs and activities, modeled on CWIT, to support undergraduate female computing students at the Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, a federal research-intensive university; the Universidade de Pernambuco, a state university; Universidade Católica de Pernambuco, a community university that reinvests all profits back into its educational activities; and CESAR School, a private school for continuing education in computing. 

Hoskins, Anong, Rippin, and Dereb were able to join the project through separate funding from UMBC’s information systems and computer science and electrical engineering departments and the Center for Global Engagement. They helped analyze survey data about the experiences of women in tech in Brazilian universities and helped launch the peer mentoring program. 

“The program was met with tons of enthusiasm from students, faculty, administrators, and local tech companies,” says Seaman. “The icing on the cake was that I was able to host four of my CWIT students.”

“There were so many ‘best parts’ of the trip,” says Anong. “We built connections, collaborated on meaningful work, immersed ourselves in Brazilian culture, and bonded with peers and mentors.” 

Support breeds success

CWIT was founded at UMBC in the summer of 1998 by Joan Korenman, a professor of English and director of the Women’s Studies Program. It started with a speaker series on women in technology, and in subsequent years expanded to include outreach and training events, scholars programs, and much more. 

It currently focuses on building a welcoming environment for women in tech by recruiting undergraduate women studying computing and engineering and their allies, and providing them with leadership opportunities, professional development, mentoring, networking, and a supportive community that they can turn to throughout their years in school and stay connected with once they enter the tech industry.

Since its inception, CWIT has served more than 500 students, about 75 percent of them women. Over the last 25 years, more than 95 percent of the undergraduate women in computing and engineering officially affiliated with the program have stayed in tech fields. These former students form a large and supportive network of tech leaders in the Maryland region and beyond.

Rippin says her own experience with the CWIT peer mentoring program—first as a mentee and then for two years as a mentor—motivated her to apply for the opportunity to spread the model in Brazil. 

“I had such fond memories from building deep connections with like-minded women in tech fields,” Rippin says. “It’s been a really rewarding experience.”

Similar challenges and a shared sense of purpose

The CWIT students felt a similar bond with the Brazilian students they met on the trip. While the tech landscape of the two countries differs in some key respects, both countries face persistent underrepresentation of women in the field. 

“I think a lot of the struggles that the women in tech in Brazil face are very similar to ours,” says Hoskins. “Things like how isolating the computer science community can feel.” 

“Meeting the six Brazilian students we kept in contact with throughout our stay in Recife and sharing experiences about our journeys as women in computing was lovely,” Anong says. “Despite our evident cultural and language differences, we had so many similarities in terms of passion, struggles, and aspirations.”

Hoskins recalls how the students took a boat ride along the rivers that flow through Recife.

Every time the boat passed under a bridge, they’d follow local tradition and clap and make a wish. It was fun, and also an opportunity to connect, Hoskins says. “It was quiet and it was a chance for us to talk and really get to know each other.”

The UMBC students left with renewed commitment to supporting other women in tech all around the world. They have kept in contact with their Brazilian counterparts and have even debuted an acronym—Supporting Women In Technology Across Borders, or SWITAB—to label their collective efforts. By the end of 2025, the mentoring programs they helped launch had more than 130 participants across five universities in Recife.

“I definitely learned so much from the experience that I’ll continue to carry forward,” Rippin says. “This just solidified how widespread the issue of underrepresentation in technical fields is, and has only strengthened my passion to continue working towards the cause.” 

Dereb echoed the sentiment: “One of the best parts of the trip was meeting motivated women who wanted to uplift each other. This experience solidified the importance of community for me, and I’ll carry that forward by being more intentional about creating and contributing to spaces where people feel supported.”