Stepping onto a tech school campus in the fall always brings a familiar mix of energy and quiet reality. Between the smell of fresh syllabus packets, the late-night coding sessions, and lecture halls where you might still count the women in the room on one hand, being here requires a specific kind of resilience. That is exactly why this column exists.
Her Stevens is carving out this space this semester as an open dialogue by and for women at a tech school. We know the unique landscape of balancing rigorous STEM coursework, technical interviews, team projects where your voice needs to cut through the noise, and the everyday reality of having a life outside the lab. Consider this column your weekly reset: honest conversations about career ambitions, wellness, campus culture, and thriving in an environment where you are building the future.
It is easy to let problem sets and lab reports dictate your entire schedule, but some of the most defining parts of college happen when you step away from the whiteboard. Getting involved on campus isn’t just about padding a resume, it’s about finding the community that keeps you grounded.
Seek out spaces where you don’t have to “work.” Join student government, plan campus traditions with event programming boards like the Entertainment Committee, audition for a Stevens Dramatic Society show, or jump into Greek life. Having a creative, social, or leadership outlet entirely separate from your technical workload will save your sanity during midterms.
Utilize affinity and advocacy groups. Organizations like the Stevens Women in Computer Science, Society of Women Engineers, or Stevens Women in Business create instant support networks. These are the rooms where you don’t have to explain the pressure of the ratio, everyone already gets it, and they’re there to lift you up.
Explore a passion just because you like it. Sign up for something you have zero prior experience in, whether that’s an outdoor adventure, photography, or a campus publication like this one. Your college years are meant for experimentation, so don’t limit yourself exclusively to things that earn credit hours.
As the semester kicks off and the pace picks up, keep these three grounding principles in your back pocket as a gift from me to you!
First: Take up space in every room you enter. Whether it’s sitting in the front row of a 100-person lecture, speaking up in a software design review, or asking the first question during office hours, do not shrink to make others comfortable. You earned your seat here, act like the authority you are becoming.
Second: Build your alliances early. Success at a tech school is a team sport. Find the women who will celebrate your interview offers, debug your code at 1 a.m., and drag you out for a coffee run when you’ve stared at a screen for five hours straight. I can tell you from three years of experience, collaboration beats competition every single time.
Third: Refuse to let your major consume your identity. Rigorous programs have a way of convincing you that your GPA, internship status, or schedule define your entire worth. Protect your hobbies, your downtime, and your friendships with the same discipline you apply to prepping for an exam.
Welcome back to campus. Let’s tackle the semester together, one breakthrough, one build, and one conversation at a time. Keep an eye on this column every other week, and never hesitate to reach out with the topics, questions, or campus realities you want us to unpack!
