Building Professional and Personal Community at the Grace Hopper Celebration
The Computing Catalyst sponsored 31 University of Maryland students to attend the conference in Chicago.
When University of Maryland senior computer science major Nithika Ramanathan walked into Chicago’s McCormick Place Convention Center for the 2025 Grace Hopper Celebration (GHC), she felt a mixture of excitement, curiosity and nerves. Three days later, she left feeling inspired and better prepared for the future.
Ramanathan was one of 31 UMD students who attended GHC with the Computing Catalyst. Founded in 1994, GHC honors the legacy of computing pioneer Grace Hopper and amplifies the research, career growth and impact of women in tech.
“When I first came to UMD as a freshman, I’d heard people talking about this conference,” Ramanathan said, “so I knew for a while that I wanted to go. Getting to go this year was so amazing.”
The Computing Catalyst sends a group of students to GHC every year through its Conference Scholarship program, which is also funded by the Department of Computer Science and the College of Information. Catalyst Program Manager Veronica Sanchez handles logistics, travel, lodging and conference registration for the students.
“Veronica is absolutely pivotal to this program,” said Catalyst Interim Associate Director Kristina Kramarczuk, who also staffed the conference. “She takes care of every detail and makes everything happen; it was great to see her in action this year at GHC.”
With the logistics and expenses handled, all the scholarship recipients have to do is show up to the conference prepared to network and learn.
“If I went without the Catalyst, it would’ve been a lot of planning for hotel, travel and all that,” Ramanathan said, “so I am truly so grateful to this program.”
Ready to Network
Ramanathan arrived at the convention center ready to make connections. She attended sessions led by industry experts and spent hours meeting with conference sponsors in the Talent Expo.
“One of my favorite things was actually waiting in line to talk to companies,” Ramanathan said. “I had so many interesting conversations with other undergrads, grad students and professionals. It meant a lot to hear their stories.”
Currently on the hunt for a summer internship, Ramanathan prioritized visiting expo booths with open internship opportunities, which she found on the GHC attendee portal.
“I would apply to those software engineering internships, and then that would be helpful when I went up to talk to them at their booths, because I could share that I’d just applied and we could chat about next steps,” Ramanathan said.
When she wasn’t meeting with companies, Ramanathan tabled at the Computing Catalyst’s booth. She was surprised by how many UMD alums came up to the table. One such alum was Amisha Kunvar (B.S. ’22, computer engineering), who works as an experience associate at PwC and expressed interest in participating in the Catalyst’s Mentoring Program.
“It was so cool to hear how [Amisha] still wants to be very involved with UMD and bring more opportunities,” Ramanathan said. “She shared some of her advice with us since she’s a few years into her career, and that meant a lot.”
As Ramanathan listened to a Bank of America session on personal finance, attended Disney's after-hours event at the Field Museum and visited Cloud Gate at night, she especially enjoyed sharing this experience with old and new friends.
“I’ve been telling everyone to apply to the Conference Scholarship program—all my friends, everyone I talk to,” Ramanathan said. “You make a lot of connections, professionally and personally, and you get to travel. It’s a win on all ends.”
