UW Bothell students represent at 2025 WiCyS conference
Five UW Bothell students and one faculty member joined thousands of women from across the country in April at the in Nashville, Tennessee. Sponsored by the School of STEM鈥檚 Division of Computing & Software Systems (CSS) and supported by the UW Bothell chapter of WiCyS, their attendance marked an important step in their journeys as emerging leaders in a historically male-dominated field.
The Division of CSS was also proud to serve as a Gold Sponsor of WiCyS 2025, demonstrating the school鈥檚 strong commitment to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in STEM 鈥� especially in cybersecurity.
Finding opportunity and community
Master鈥檚 student Azmeen Mohammad came to UW Bothell curious about cybersecurity, despite having no formal background in the field.
鈥淐yber is something which is not very much talked about by many people,鈥� Mohammad said. 鈥淏ut there are so many opportunities in cyber.鈥�
She discovered the UW Bothell WiCyS chapter through friends and took a cybersecurity elective during her first year. Although her initial application for conference sponsorship was unsuccessful, her dedication remained strong. She later became a club officer and reapplied in her second year 鈥� this time earning a sponsorship from the CSS division to attend WiCyS 2025.
While other conferences she鈥檚 attended have been gender-inclusive, the WiCyS conference is specifically geared towards women 鈥� the recruitment, retention and advancement of women in cybersecurity.
鈥淚t felt so empowering to see all these women coming together and working in an area that is usually so male-dominated,鈥� she said.
Jui Bangali, a master鈥檚 student and current president of the UW Bothell WiCyS chapter, followed a similar path. Having worked in cybersecurity at Dell before graduate school, Bangali was familiar with WiCyS but hadn鈥檛 been directly involved. After joining UW Bothell, she dove into the club and eventually became chapter president.
As a chapter president, Bangali received a sponsorship to attend the conference from WiCyS itself. She noted the exclusivity of the event as it鈥檚 open only to sponsored students and industry partners, which creates stronger networking opportunities.
Exploring the WiCyS 2025 experience
The conference featured a mix of technical workshops, hands-on labs, mental wellness sessions, and networking socials hosted by major companies. The focus on mental health and work-life balance was a standout for both students.
鈥淭hey didn’t just concentrate on the technical aspect of the conference, but they also made sure that there were a few sessions which were related to mental wellbeing,鈥� Mohammad said.
To offset travel costs, Bangali signed up to volunteer at the conference. She volunteered to help with some of the speaker sessions, which she says allowed her more networking time.
鈥淵ou get an opportunity to be closer to the speaker,鈥� Bangali said. 鈥淓verybody kind of got to ask questions, but because you’re a volunteer, it adds another layer.鈥�
The conference also included a career fair, where students received specific feedback on their r茅sum茅s from recruiters.
鈥淭hey actually take your resume and read out the resume and they pinpoint things like 鈥榯hese need to be changed if you’re applying for our company,鈥欌�� Mohammad said. 鈥淭here were a few companies who were giving very detailed feedback.鈥�
Bangali found the opportunity to practice elevator pitches on recruiters helpful. Some of the workshops throughout the conference focused on this skill, and the career fair was the perfect place to practice.
鈥淚t’s an important skill; you barely get one minute with the person,鈥� Bangali said. 鈥淪o, you want to make sure you’re able to convey everything.鈥�
Building a future in cybersecurity
The School of STEM Graduate Programs continue to attend the conference and share information about how to advance as a professional in the field with the Master of Science in Cybersecurity Engineering.
continues to grow as a supportive, inclusive space for students interested in cybersecurity. Sponsorship opportunities through WiCyS and the CSS division continue to serve as an investment in our students and their opportunities to gain leadership skills, industry connections and the confidence to lead in STEM.
