The Grace Hopper Celebration (GHC) is the world’s largest gathering of women and non-binary technologists. This three day conference includes workshops, presentations, networking opportunities, a career fair, and much more. GHC is typically held in late September or early October and rotates between being held in Orlando, Chicago, and Houston every couple of years. Each year, CSters sponsors 10-20 students to attend the conference through partial or full scholarships that cover conference tickets, flights, and hotels thanks to the generosity of our company sponsors.
“There’s something so special about being together with a whole community of women technologists! It was so inspiring to see people leading their field and the passion and energy of everyone was electrifying! Being able to experience Grace Hopper with fellow CSters was definitely one of my highlights in my time at Rice!” -Christine Lee ’23
“GHC was such an amazing opportunity to connect with other women in CS. The event is not only a platform to learn about various companies, but also a chance to interview for potential employers. [One of the] highlights for me was the bond I was able to form with other attendees of GHC!” -Freda Zhang ’23
“GHC was an eye opening experience where I got to not only interview with and learn more about companies for full time roles, but also bond with other CSters members and be inspired by women in technology from all over the worlds who shared their stories through sessions. GHC is definitely a unique conference; just seeing the amount of women gather together for the conference was super inspiring, and it was even better making new friends and reconnecting with old friends from internships or other women in technology experiences. It was definitely one of my top highlights of my time at Rice and as a CSter, and I’m so grateful for our corporate sponsors who made it possible for us to attend!” -Claire Xu ’23
Because interest to attend GHC is typically much higher than the amount of people we can sponsor, we try to grant sponsorships to members in a way that’s as fair and unbiased as possible. The following process is typically what we follow, but is subject to change on short notice depending on the needs and circumstances of each year.
CSters members are required to meet the following qualifications to apply for GHC Sponsorship unless a petition is otherwise granted:
- Be a Rice undergraduate or graduate student during the academic year the conference takes place.
- Be a CSters member and have joined the CSters listserv at the time of applying.
- Attend a mandatory GHC info session hosted by CSters in late March or early April of the previous school year.
- Have attended 3 events minimum for fall + 3 events minimum for spring for the previous school year, unless studying abroad.
CSters who meet the following requirements will then be invited to apply for sponsorship in late April or early May, where the priority of scholarships will be granted on the following basis, in the following order:
- Activeness as a club member
- Seniority
- First time attendees
- Application short responses
Sponsorship decisions are typically released during the summer, and the number of sponsorships granted varies by year.
For any additional questions, please email csters.rice@gmail.com or contact the current External President.