Why I come back to Grace Hopper every year

At last year's Grace Hopper key-note Cheryl Sandberg said, "What would you do if you were not afraid?" And every day since then, whenever my life felt into a torpor, a sort-of cruising-mode, Cheryl's voice came back to me, galvanized and hurled me into action. Since then I, a smart and passionate individual who always liked to play it safe, walked up to my boss and told him that I would like to be on the CTO track in my company. I also founded my own Social Entrepreneurial Venture. Yes, I found my passions - strategizing technology; sparking innovation; using technology to solve societal problems. More importantly, however, I learned how to live my passions in this one hell-of-a-short lifetime.

At this year's Grace Hopper key-note Nora Denzel said, "A ship in port is safe, but that is not what ships were built for." As I sat down for Nora's talk I was freaking out about this presentation in two weeks. I had to talk about leveraging technology trends in the field of Mental Health to a room full of Psychologists when I know so little about the field. And Nora's words inspired me to drown the fear with curiosity and thrill as I set sail into unknown waters.

I don't know where my journey will end but I did want to share this with the 2000+ attendees of Grace Hopper this year.  Let the spirit of adventure never die within you.

I bumped into a member of the Grace Hopper staff at the conference two days ago. As she was thanking me for moderating a session, I shared with her why I come back to Grace Hopper every year. Her eyes glistened a little bit. It was an awkward moment and she blamed it on her being tired. But I know, true to a woman's instinct - a care-giver, a nurturer, her eyes glistened because she was beginning to fathom the impact that Grace Hopper has come to have in the world of Women in Computing. Thank you for giving us wings to fly with!