Business and Technical Jargon isn't so bad. Really!
Ok, it’s kind of a pain at first to get used to all of the different acronyms at Information and Technology Services at the University of Michigan (ITS at U-M). Add on to that some new technical jargon you may or may not have heard before, some technical areas you don’t understand yet, and business jargon you aren’t used to yet, and you may be a little nervous your first week working here. Thankfully, there’s a guide you will be provided with on your first day that covers every acronym you could ever come across! Don't feel discouraged if there seems to be a lot of business and technical things you don’t understand. I found the answer to many questions by simply googling! And don’t be afraid to ask your coworkers. They may unknowingly talk above your head -- it’s hard to remember that a new intern might not know what the “CIO,” “ASB,” or “WOTO” mean, but no one that I’ve met here is unreasonable. They’ll be more than happy to help you! I came into my internship with a limited tech background and I was nervous at first, but I got used to asking questions and looking up things I didn’t understand. I assimilated really quickly, and you will too! :)
There are plenty of competent women in tech
In my Computer Science and other engineering courses here at U-M, I’m pretty used to being in a male dominated class. The other students are great, and I’ve never experienced sexism from them. However, I sometimes feel pressure to somehow represent other women well while I’m at school. I feel like if I do poorly, it sends the message to an already male dominated population that women in general are incompetent in math, science, or engineering courses. Of course, this is ridiculous; even if I do poorly, it’s solely representative of my skills and not of those of half of the population. Even though I know this mentally, it’s a hard feeling to shake off. And though the fear does work as a motivation to do well, it can make me over-anxious and afraid to try new things. At ITS, the CIO Laura Patterson is a smart, competent woman in tech who’s doing incredible things for the university. Furthermore, the male/female ratio at ITS is pretty even. Working for ITS has shown me that there are a lot of competent women in technology already, so I don’t need to worry about proving that women can do well in math, science, engineering, etc. This leaves me free to try new things, make mistakes, and enjoy studying computer science and math without worrying about proving that women are competent in these areas.