WINFO Podcast: Community and Creativity within Informatics

Hello and welcome to the second episode of season two of the WINFO podcast! 

On this episode we explain what a capacity constrained major is, why admissions essays seem to be so prized in the Informatics major at the University of Washington, and, if you're interested in applying, what you should be focusing on in your own essay. Then we get to talk to Sneha who got into the informatics major as a junior and Sirena Akopyan, a freshman direct admit to the informatics program. With them, we talk about the process of writing their essays, the context surrounding them, and then (drumroll please) get to hear them read their essays word for word. We're excited to start demystifying the info application process and show the vast differences in applications so, if you're interested in applying, you can get comfortable with writing about your own story to stand out, not what you think your story should be.

Sneha's Linkedin | Sirena's LinkedIn

TRANSCRIPTION LINK

WINFO's Links: Website | Instagram | Facebook | Linkedin 

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Hosted by Gisele Fox

Produced by the WINFO Podcast Committee: Gisele Fox, Sneha Reddy, Sirena Akopyan

Season 2 of the WINFO podcast has arrived! 

For our first episode this season, we will be getting introduced to Sneha and Sirena - two students just admitted into the Informatics program at the University of Washington! This is the start of a new series in which we follow them through their Informatics journey and see how they grow and change over time. For their first episode, we cover what led them to Informatics, how they have adapted to the community, and much more!

Sneha's Linkedin | Sirena's LinkedIn

TRANSCRIPTION LINK

WINFO's Links: Website | Instagram | Facebook | Linkedin 

Subscribe to our newsletter

Hosted by Gisele Fox

Produced by the WINFO Podcast Committee: Gisele Fox, Sneha Reddy, Sirena Akopyan

Hello and welcome to our 6th episode!

On this episode we've got Katie Avril, the new IT director at the University of Washington's Applied Physics Lab, and Joyce Elauria, a current undergraduate student at the University of Washington obtaining degrees in Informatics (with a focus on Cybersecurity) and Biochemistry. We get to hear about all the different work they do in the cybersecurity field both from Katie's administrative point of view as well as Joyce's hands on technical experience. In this episode we get to learn why no government official will ever be driving a tesla anytime soon and why computer science students should be trying to learn secure development practices alongside their regular curriculum. They were a great introduction to the world of cybersecurity and I'm sure you guys will love hearing about what they're working on!

Katie's Links: LinkedIn

Joyce's Links: LinkedIn 

Transcription Link

WINFO's links: Instagram | Facebook | Linkedin | Subscribe to our Newsletter!

Produced and Hosted by Gisele Fox

Hello one and all and welcome to our 5th episode!

In this one we get to talk to Dr. Anna Lauren Hoffmann, an Assistant Professor at the University of Washington's iSchool who's working at the intersections of data, technology, culture, and ethics. We get to dive into what she's working on right now as well as some of the ideas behind information activism and intersectionality within tech. It doesn't stop there and we even get down to the root of what "technology" means in today's age and how the way we think about it affects what kind of labor we value. If you want that explained better than I can, pop in those earbuds and let Dr. Hoffmann grow your brain a couple sizes!

Dr. Anna Lauren Hoffmann's links:

Website | Most Recent Publication (as of the release of this episode)

Transcription: tinyurl.com/winfo-ep5 (available Sun May 2nd)

Hosted and produced by Gisele Fox

Transcription revised by Roshni Srikanth

As a guest today we have Nancy Pickett, a film student who has a feature film out on Amazon prime called the Golden Truth and received a prestigious scholarship at the News and Documentary Emmy Awards in 2017. Gisele and Locksley get to talk to her about how documentaries are used to close information gaps and how much data science and design thinking are a part of the pre-production process. We also get a behind the scenes look at Nancy's current documentary series, Standard of Care, that explores disparities in healthcare among different demographic groups.

If you're an informatics student and you want to learn about how flexible your skill set can be and how impactful information solutions can be, you're gonna love this episode.

If you're interested in contributing to the Standard of Care by offering your time, donations, or sharing your own story of medical bias check her out using the links down below.

Nancy Pickett's Links:

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/nancypickett/

Personal Website: www.nancypickett.online/

Standard of Care Instagram: www.instagram.com/standardofcare

Standard of Care Website: www.standardofcare.film

Locksley Kolakowski's Links:

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/locksley-kolakowski/

Personal Website: www.locksleyl.com

Transcription: tinyurl.com/winfo-ep4

Co-hosted by Locksley Kolakowski and Gisele Fox

Produced by Gisele Fox 

Transcription revised by Roshni Srikanth

Hello and welcome to our third episode! In this one we get to talk to two freshmen, Emiri and Melina, about their experience starting college in the pandemic. We cover a lot of interesting topics including: how we've made friends in a completely online environment, what we're excited for when things open back up again, and have we considered dating as of now? This episode is like a nice cup of tea and serves as a handy little time capsule to look back on in the future.

Transcription: tinyurl.com/winfo-ep3

Produced by Gisele Fox

Hello and welcome to the second episode of the WINFO podcast!

In this episode we get to hear from Thomas, Aaron, and Roshni and cover topics all the way from mental health to limebikes in a snowman. It's a heart touching episode filled with funny bits and deep conversations, so pop on those headphones and hang out with us for a bit!

Transcription: tinyurl.com/winfo-ep2

Link to picture of limebike in a snowman: https://imgur.com/gallery/VMMDbWe

Produced by Gisele Fox

Welcome to the very first episode of the WINFO podcast!

Akoly and Harkiran give some sage advice as two soon to be graduates of the iSchool. We talk about some really core topics like how important social connections can be, how to important it is to balance mental health and productivity, and more! 

Transcription: https://tinyurl.com/winfo-ep1

Find Akoly on Instagram (@akolyv) and you can find them both on Linkedin!

Produced and hosted by Gisele Fox

Welcome to the WINFO podcast! We are so excited to have you with us!

With this podcast we, the Women in Informatics team or WINFO for short, want to create a space where we can slow down, get to know each other, and explore all the creative ways you can work with informatics.

From talking to people who mix unconventional fields with info to people who do tech on the side, we want to explore all the different paths so you can get excited about learning on your own terms.

We also want to talk to you! If you’re a UW student and want to be a guest on one of our “get to know your classmates'' episodes, fill out the google form in the WINFO instagram bio (@uwwinfo).

To be honest we’ve got a million and one things on the back burner so expect even more to come! See you guys soon!