As a woman of color, I feel privileged to have received a high-quality education with support from peers, mentors, and teachers. However, this privilege has made me acutely aware of disparities in my educational environment, particularly the disproportionate ratio of women to men in classrooms and faculty. Initially, I misattributed this imbalance to a lack of intrinsic motivation among women, but I later understood how such underrepresentation fosters feelings of isolation and contributes to attrition among my female peers. For instance, during my final undergraduate project, I led a team of three women and required late hours in the lab. We faced a lack of female peers and lab technicians for support. Safety concerns prevented other women from staying after hours, and security discouraged us from staying late, isolating us from our peer network and slowing progress. This experience emphasized the importance of supporting women and individuals from diverse backgrounds in overcoming such barriers.

Inclusive Teaching in Corporate Education: As a corporate technology educator at Infosys, I taught a diverse set of learners, including individuals from non-computer science engineering backgrounds with limited programming knowledge, as well as mature learners in senior positions. To accommodate this diversity, I designed courses assuming no prior experience and took a practical, bottom-up approach to provide accurate mental models of the systems and frameworks. For example, I built complete functional applications (e.g., using Java or Javascript) module by module, explaining each part as I developed and integrated them. I encouraged learners to replicate my demonstrations and clarify their doubts, while proactively interleaving lectures with insights from my own learning roadblocks.

Prioritizing Accessibility: During my graduate studies at Simon Fraser University, I prioritized accessibility by adapting materials for students with low vision. For example, I mentored a student in a user-centered design course, helping her develop a prototype tailored for low-vision contexts, inspired by ANKI flashcards. This project sparked her interest in UX design and led to a successful internship application. Moving forward, I will ensure learning materials have accessible alternatives for students with challenges, such as visual or hearing impairments, to provide equal access to educational resources.

Engaging Communities Through Outreach: I have engaged in community outreach through the Women-in-Computing Science group, conducting summer workshops for high school students to inspire underrepresented groups toward careers in computer science. I implemented a brainstorming approach in these workshops that challenged students to tackle real-world design problems. I encouraged individual and group brainstorming and sketching exercises, fostering collaboration. In an open and welcoming environment, students felt empowered to share their ideas without fear of judgment, learning the importance of presenting initial prototypes to receive constructive feedback.

Justice in Collaborative Team Work: During my time as a teaching assistant, I mentored undergraduate teams and encouraged them to create agreements outlining task allocation and conflict resolution strategies. When conflicts arose, I facilitated discussions by holding regular office hours for feedback, ensuring all voices were heard. If agreements were not honored, I gathered individual perspectives privately and guided students to resolve issues collaboratively. This approach helped students feel supported, recognize areas for growth, and work towards a resolution. I plan to continue this practice to promote fairness in collaborative settings.