That LinkedIn Girl

This past week, I visited 9 classrooms across Clark County School District, taught an after-school Computer Science education program at Boys & Girls Clubs of Southern Nevada, AND went on News 3 (NBC) and Fox 5 for #CSEducationWeek! I can't believe all of this was nothing more than some bullet points in a Google Doc less than a month ago 🙈. As you may or may not know, pageantry and The Miss America Opportunity is a big part of my life and my identity. I came out of my "retirement" from pageantry earlier this year to compete for Miss Nevada 2024, where I placed 1st runner-up. If you know me, you know that I don't take "no" for an answer very easily, so as soon as the opportunity arose, I applied to compete again for Miss Nevada 2025. But I didn't get back into pageantry for the glitz & glam or the sparkles & sashes. I found my love and passion for pageantry again through service, community involvement, and advocacy, specifically for women in innovation-based fields and equitable access to innovation-focused education. With that in mind, I had a BIG vision for CS Education Week. When I sat down a month ago to figure it out, I set four goals: 🎯 Goal: Get some media attention and visibility on the work I did through a feature on prime-time news 🌟 Result: Invited to talk about my work for CS Education Week and my nonprofit, innovateHer.io, as Miss Clark County on Channel 3 (NBC) & 5 (Fox) 🎯 Goal: Classroom visits to talk about the theme of my take on CS Education Week, "Possibilities: Where a CS Education Can Lead You" - minimum goal of 5, stretch goal of 10 🌟 Result: I hit 9 ~ 7 high schools + 2 elementary schools. 🎯 Goal: An educational program partnership with a youth organization, focusing on providing basics-level CS education to under-served students in the 10-12 age range 🌟 Result: I chose to partner with Boys & Girls Clubs of Southern Nevada to create a 2-day after-school workshop series on CS/coding basics. 🎯 Goal: "CS After-Hours" celebrations, showcasing the intersection of Computer Science with other industries 🌟 Result: I hosted an event in partnership with Illuminarium Experiences and NCWIT - Nevada Affiliate, and will host another event tomorrow in partnership with BattleBots. I really did not think I would be able to pull this off and I must've sent over 40 cold emails in the last four weeks to make it all happen. The fact that it did is so surreal to me. Thank you so, so much to every single person who helped me make all of this happen this week, including but not limited to -- Kim Wagner at News 3, Nicole at Fox 5, Mr. Miller at Spring Valley HS, Ms. Napolitano at Cunningham Elementary, Danielle at BGCSN, Dr. Edwards at Rancho HS, Mr. Mayo at A-Tech, Ms. Semmler at West Tech, Ms. Faye at Sierra Vista HS, Asst. Principal Garvin at Cheyenne HS, Ms. Coultas at Palo Verde HS, Mr. Dondoyano at Coral Academy, Amelia Gulling, MPA at BattleBots, and last but most certainly not least, Snehal Bhakta at NCWIT NV/CCSD.

Day 1️⃣ of #CSEducationWeek as Miss Clark County 👑 I kicked off Computer Science Education Week, bright and early, with a visit to the News 3 Las Vegas (LV NBC affiliate) studio for a live interview on their 6:30am segment, where I talked about my efforts for #CSEdWeek, including - ⇒ 9 classroom visits in and around Clark County School District ⇒ An after-school educational program in partnership with Boys & Girls Clubs of Southern Nevada ⇒ "CS After-Hours" celebrations in partnership with NCWIT - Nevada Affiliate, Illuminarium Experiences (LV), and BattleBots Thank you so much to morning anchor, Kim Wagner, for giving me the space and platform to share my story and my efforts! After the morning news, I headed over to Spring Valley High School in Spring Valley to talk to a Computer Science class about the possibilities of where a CS education can take you. Thank you so much to Mr. Miller for having me to speak to your class! For the afternoon, I headed across to Sunrise Manor to visit the Girls Who Code chapter at Cynthia Cunningham Elementary School (GWC NV55713), where I shared my journey into CS with the club members, learned a bit about theirs, and led an activity where the girls created an avatar using GWC's own girlswhocodegirls.com (a tool created for girls to design video game characters for girls, by girls). But of course, being a GWC alumni and Alumni Advisory Council member, I had to leave them with something to remember me by -- I 💚 GWC friendship bracelets! Thank you so much to Ms. Napolitano for having me as a visitor/guest speaker to your club chapter! To wrap up my day, I headed to the John D. "Jackie" Gaughan Clubhouse to teach an after-school "Coding 101" workshop at Boys & Girls Clubs of Southern Nevada. The first half of the workshop covered basic CS concepts like algorithms, conditionals, loops, arguments, and functions, and the second half put these concepts to practice, taking on challenges from Code.org's "Star Wars: Build a Galaxy from Code." Kickoff day was SO much fun, but I still have a full schedule ahead of me! Stay tuned for more updates on my efforts for CS Education Week as Miss Clark County 👑 #STEMEducation #GirlsInSTEM #CSEducation

I've made over $24,000 at 21 years old just from being a creator and I've only been monetizing my personal brand for <2 years. To some people, that's not a lot of money. But to a college student/recent graduate, it feels like winning the lottery. When I started creating content, it wasn't to make money. Most of you reading this know my story -- I started creating content because I wanted to yap about my job online. Weirdly, it became like a public journal and a creative outlet. And at the time, I couldn't fathom the idea of making money from it. So, the idea of making hundreds and even thousands of dollars from a singular social media post is so wild, and yet, it's a reality for me now. That's why I'm part of the #9to5QuittersClub with Teachable! Here's the thing though ~ you don't necessarily have to be the "college dropout" or "guru" who is strictly an entrepreneur. I've had a normal "9-5" throughout my entire journey as a creator and I love being able to do both! The bottom line of "doing both" is that I get to work the way I want to -- I have a great job that I love, but I also get to work on something that I own and fills my cup in a way my job doesn't. The 9-5 Quitters Club isn't a dig at 9-5s and it's not exclusive to people who are full-time entrepreneurs. The 9-5 Quitters Club is a celebration of forging your own path in work and working the way YOU choose to. It's all about the creativity, trailblazing, and rebellious imagination of creators. The best part? Anyone can join! This isn't some exclusive club -- it's a whole movement and we're waiting for you 🫵 to join us! Start defining your own path in work, do what you're passionate about, and get a bag doing it!! 💰 Join the #9to5quitters club at https://lnkd.in/g2SBzrNs! #TeachablePartner

SOOO excited to be heading out to sunny SoCal tomorrow to take the stage as a panelist at my first #CreatorCon with Whop! I cannot wait to share the stage with some inspiring, iconic women -- Andi Eaton Alleman, Jhánneu R., and Keta Bagashvili. Thank you so much to Keta, Bear M., and the Whop team for inviting me to take part in this incredible opportunity!

innovateHer.io x GHC Recap (warning: sappy post ahead 🥹) Last week, I ran two of my first THREE non-profit initiatives -- the innovateHer x GHC Scholarship(s), and the innovateHer x GHC Community Mentorship Program! I only launched innovateHer two months ago, but I knew I wanted to make something BIG happen for GHC. But why, GHC? There was a lot of controversy surrounding last year's conference, but I learned a lot from it. Namely, I learned firsthand, what attendees needed to be successful at conferences and feel safe and comfortable while doing so. Three major themes emerged: accessibility, community, and mentorship. So these were my 3 biggest priorities when it came to my initiatives. I wanted to ~ 1️⃣ Create opportunities to attend the conference for those who wouldn't have the ability to go otherwise due to limiting circumstances. 2️⃣ Provide a support system and IRL community for students attending the conference to ensure every participant has someone to lean on. So, I created two initiatives to address these two goals: 🌟 innovateHer x GHC Scholarship -- We were able to award not one, not two, but FIVE scholarships to assist students in attending GHC! We awarded two full-ride scholarships, two virtual scholarships, and one partial travel scholarship. 🌟 innovateHer x GHC Community Mentorship Program -- We accepted 32 GHC attendees into our mentorship program with 5 amazing community leads/mentors! We hosted our own "GHC After-Hours" event on Day 1 with a dinner and bonding night at Round1 Philadelphia. We hosted our official mentorship meetup on Day 2 in the Heartbeat Lounge. Lastly, we hosted our scholarship recipients for a dinner at Maggiano's Little Italy Philadelphia. Both initiatives turned out to be more than I ever could have hoped for or dreamed of. I watched our community members forge new friends, deepen bonds in existing relationships, and make memories to last a lifetime. I not only watched a community grow and blossom, but a sisterhood come to life. The messages I received throughout and after the conference have been overwhelmingly wholesome and mildly tear-jerking. 🥹 I couldn't be happier with how everything came to fruition and I am still in shock that it was able to come together so last minute. And although our GHC24 adventure has come to a close, our innovateHer.io journey is JUST getting started. 😉 If our mission of 𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙭𝙩 𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙞𝙣𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙖𝙩𝙚[𝙝𝙚𝙧]𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙚𝙘𝙝𝙣𝙤𝙡𝙤𝙜𝙮, 𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥 resonates with you, we want to have you on board! 🤝 If you're interested in sponsoring, donating, or becoming a corporate partner → email me at morgan@innovateher.io 💌 If you want to stay updated on upcoming programs/initiatives → subscribe to our newsletter @ https://lnkd.in/gBYwQvrh 🩷 If you're interested in volunteering → https://lnkd.in/g-cz4rgK #innovateHer

Can I get ANOTHER drum roll, please? 🥁😂 Introducing the recipients of the innovateHer.io x SASE Conference Scholarship! SASEConnect (SASE - Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers) is home to the largest Asian STEM career fair in the country and will take place next week from October 9-12 in Boston, MA! Without further ado, meet the innovateHer x SASE Scholarship Recipients! 🌟 Ly Na is a senior at Columbia University, studying Computer Science. She was previously a Cybersecurity Analyst Intern at Microsoft and Deloitte and a 2x SDE Intern at Amazon. She currently serves as the President of Women in Cybersecurity (WiCys) at Columbia and is a QuestBridge Scholar. She is also a member of SWE, GWC, and RTC. 🌟 Fatimah is a freshman at the University of California, Berkeley, studying Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. She was previously a Data Science Intern at Data Decisions and the Director of Education for Dougherty Valley Robotics. She has built multiple small businesses and ventures and was even accepted to be a builder in S4 of buildspace. She is also a member of SWE, GWC, and NCWIT. We are SO excited that these innovate[her]s will get to experience SASEConnect 2024 and we can't wait to see what they gain from their conference experiences! P.S. Conference SZN FYI -- Did you miss the application window for innovateHer x GHC's mentorship program? Don't sweat, you can still join the community! Drop your email below to get the Slack invite. 💌 #SASE #SASEConnect24 #innovateHer

Can I get a drum roll, please? 🥁 Introducing the recipients of the FIRST-EVER, inaugural innovateHer.io x #GHC Scholarship(s)! We cannot BELIEVE how you all showed UP & showed OUT on these applications! We received 𝟯𝟭𝟯 applications total in a span of ~2 weeks, 150K+ views on our scholarship social media campaign! Here's some quick stats about our applicant pool: 🏫 56.28% of applicants represent "non-target" institutions 🎓 188 institutions represented by applicants 📍 171 cities and 38 states represented by applicants Also, some quick stats about our Top 18 Scholarship Finalists: 💰 83% of finalists receive financial aid 💵 44% of finalists receive Pell Grants 👩🏻🤝👩🏽 89% of finalists identify as women of color 1️⃣ 56% of finalists are first-generation college students 📚 50% of finalists attend “non-target” institutions Now let's introduce our OUTSTANDING scholarship recipients! 🌟 Julia is a senior at Quinnipiac University, studying Computer Science, with minors in Artificial Intelligence & Fine Arts. She was previously a SWE Intern at Salesforce and a Section Leader for Stanford's Code in Place. Julia currently serves as the president of the Computing Club on her campus and a learning facilitator at Quinnipiac's GWC chapter. She is also a member of SWE, RTC, and NCWIT. 🌟 Rosa is a senior at Columbia University, studying Computer Science, with minors in Entrepreneurship & Innovation. She was previously a SWE Intern at Microsoft and Google. Rosa currently serves as the president of GWC at Columbia and the Vice President of D.E.I. for the Columbia Engineering Student Council. She is also a member of the SWE and RTC. 🌟 Melody is a junior at Virginia State University, studying Computer Engineering, with a minor in Mathematics. She was previously a SWE Intern at Cisco, a Robotics Engineering Intern at John Deere, and a Systems Engineering Intern at Northrop Grumman. Melody is also a member of GWC, RTC, and BGC. 🌟 Heldanna is a junior at the University of Central Florida, studying Information Technology, with minors in Int'l Business and Statistics. She was previously a Policy Intern at the US Dept of State, a Game Development & Design Intern at NASA, and a Systems Engineering Intern at Lockheed Martin. Melody served as an SIP TA for Girls Who Code and she is also a member of SWE and RTC. 🌟 Jenny is a senior at UCLA, studying Computer Science & Linguistics. She was previously a SWE Intern at SurveyMonkey and Amazon. Jenny currently serves as the HR Director for UCLA Nova for Good and previously served as an Instructor Assistant for Kode With Klossy. We are SO excited to be sharing the GHC experience with these amazing innovate[her]s & we can't wait to see you all at the conference! P.S. Did you miss the application window for innovateHer x GHC's mentorship program? Don't sweat, you can still join the community! Drop your email below to get the Slack invite. 💌 #GHC24 #GraceHopperCelebration #WomenInTech AnitaB.org

IT'S TIIIIIMMMMMMMEEEEEE 🥳 With 313 total applicants for the inaugural InnovateHer x GHC Scholarship, we have selected 18 finalists who will be moving forward in the application process. All finalist notifications have been sent out, so make sure to check your inboxes! 📥 If you were selected as a finalist, please be prompt in scheduling your interview, we're on a very tight timeline!

Raise your hand if you’ve ever been victimized by the pressure to create content for your business. 🙋🏻♀️🙋🏼🙋🏾♂️ We asked Morgan Young for her top content creation tips— and anyone who’s experienced “analysis paralysis” *needs* to watch this video. #HowIWave #SmallBusiness #SmallBusinessTips #SmallBusinessAdvice #Entrepreneur #FintechIsFemme #Creators

[𝗟𝗔𝗦𝗧 𝗖𝗔𝗟𝗟] InnovateHer is giving away 𝟮 𝗙𝗨𝗟𝗟-𝗥𝗜𝗗𝗘 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗮𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽𝘀 (registration, travel, etc) to GHC24 but the application closes 𝗧𝗢𝗡𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧! GHC holds such a special place in my heart because it's where I got my first full-time job offer (last year)! That could be you this year! So what are we giving away? ($6,000+ value) ✅ 2 General Admission registrations to GHC 2024 ($1,349 value) ✅ Lodging for both recipients for 5 days (October 7-12) ✅ Up to $300 reimbursement for Transportation to GHC (flight/train) ✅ Exclusive Conference Prep Workshop with me 🙋🏻♀️ ✅ Free Mock Interview with me 🙋🏻♀️ ✅ Admittance to Exclusive GHC Community Mentorship Group (more details on this later) AND, five second-place winners, will also be named and receive: ✅ A feature in my new newsletter, The [in]side Track ✅ A feature on my personal LinkedIn Page ✅ A free Resume Review with me 🙋🏻♀️ And what do you need to be eligible? ✅ Be an undergraduate student enrolled at a four-year university ✅ Must be attending a US college/university ✅ Must have US work authorization ✅ Must be able to attend the entirety of Grace Hopper Celebration, Oct 7-12, 2024 So what do you have to do? 👉 Apply by TONIGHT (9/22) at 11:59pm PST: https://lnkd.in/g5VEfMZ5 👉 Tag a friend who could benefit from this and possibly end up being recipient #2 😉 + share this post (because sharing is caring 🩷) 👉 Follow me (Morgan Young) & InnovateHer (winners will be announced on these two respective pages) #innovateHer #GHC24 #GraceHopperCelebration #WomenInTech #DEI AnitaB.org