One day early in her second year, Yana Dmytrivna Chala looked around and noticed something she didn’t like. “I was the only girl on track in computer science because a lot of girls weren’t sure. I knew there were fewer women in sciences generally,” she says, “but it never really struck me that it was a problem.”
At NYU Abu Dhabi, Yana became actively involved in the growing movement for women in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) careers. She joined various student initiatives, volunteered as a website developer, ran a conference for high school students, and worked two internships at Google. A lot of female classmates returned to computer science after exploring other options, “which is amazing,” she says.
Encouraging young girls and women to break stereotypes is something Yana wants to do throughout her career. “I realized I’m really passionate about education.” After graduation, Yana starts a full-time job at Google in London.