Parkland High School student Uma Purani recently won the National Center for Women and Information Technology Award for Aspirations in Computing.

The award recognizes ninth- through 12th-grade students who self-identify as women, gender queer or nonbinary for their computing-related achievements and interests, as part of an effort to encourage a diverse range of students to choose careers in technology.

Four hundred award recipients were selected from high schools across 46 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and all U.S. overseas military bases for their outstanding aptitude and aspirations in technology and computing as demonstrated by their computing experience, computing-related activities, leadership experience, tenacity in the face of barriers to access, and plans for postsecondary education.

Each recipient will receive recognition and prizes, induction into the Aspirations in Computing community of nearly 20,000 technical individuals access to resources, scholarships and internship opportunities.

“Encouraging young women’s interest in technology careers is critical,” said NCWIT CEO and Co-founder Lucy Sanders. “Our workforce needs their creativity and unique perspectives to produce technology that is as broad and innovative as the population it serves.”

NCWIT is a nonprofit community that convenes, equips, and unites change leader organizations to increase the influential and meaningful participation of girls and women - at the intersections of race/ethnicity, class, age, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability status and other historically marginalized identities - in the field of computing, particularly in terms of innovation and development.

To find out more, go to ncwit.org.