Comments on: role models

By: Kim Hansen

Kim Hansen — Fri, 19 Aug 2005 18:18:32 +0000

Thank you for you story. It is crucial for people to hear and tell stories, to share complex information on an emotional level. We are wired to learn from stories and this capacity is under-utlilized in teaching and learning. As an instructional designer I’m always looking for a good story to share with others, hook them in, and get them thinking on deeper levels. This is especially crucial in e-learning.

To quote Kipling –
“If history were taught in the form of stories it would never be forgotten”

…and, I think, neither would complex or technical information.

Kim

By: Sarah Allen

Sarah Allen — Sun, 17 Jul 2005 20:17:20 +0000

Tina,

So, wonderful to hear from my long lost friend. When I wrote this, I was focused on role models in the context of work and technology. It is good to hear about your role models for other parts of your life.

One of my role models as a mother and just as an all around human being is my husband’s mom, Isabel Allen. She created around herself an amazing extended family, readily adopting the best friends and loved ones of her children. When Bruce and I got married, she said she was delighted to have another daughter.

Thanks for finding me and sharing your stories. I look forward to getting back in touch.

Love,
Sarah

By: Tina Jo Cantor Toomey

Tina Jo Cantor Toomey — Sun, 17 Jul 2005 16:53:23 +0000

Hey Sarah,
We know each other from our time at Brown together; me struggling to manage Andy’s correspondence, etc., and you TAing for CS11. Hello again!

I really enjoyed your discussion about role models. I’ve yearned for role models of any kind. As a teenager of the 70s with a mom and dad caught up in rapidly changing times, and as the youngest of four, I was neglected; Any role models that entered my world would have to work hard to break the dispassioned and insecure shell I created to survive it. I’ve struggled and still struggle today.

However, today, my mom is my role model. I marvel at her courage. In 1997 my father died, and my mom became a matriarch. She did so with grace, grace and more grace. I’m so pleased to finally get to this place in my relationship with her.

In my heart of hearts I’m an artist, and so added to my list is Judy Silvan, a longtime friend. She has created a home full of color and style for herself and son and she generously shares it with her friends. Together she and I create buckwheat hull pillows for sale. I love this project creating beautiful art. I learn from her all the time.

Anybody that demonstrates courage is my role model. Frank McCourt author of Angela’s Ashes became an instant hero for me.

Thank you Sarah for creating this venue to become acquainted with you again. May you continue to be blessed.
Love,
Tina

By: Sarah Allen

Sarah Allen — Sun, 17 Jul 2005 01:24:29 +0000

Alexandra,

Thanks for taking the time to share your story. I’m glad you have found reliable partners who trust you. I wish you success in the programming competition! Even if you don’t win, you will learn a lot by taking the initiative and completing the project. I agree that having role models does not guarantee success, but I do believe it simplifies my thinking when I can learn from someone else’s success. There is no substitue for believing it is possible. Hang in there at work and keep at it.

All my best,
Sarah

By: Alexandra Lei

Alexandra Lei — Wed, 13 Jul 2005 07:01:48 +0000

Hi, Sarah
When I’m surfing for something wonderful in laszlosystem.com, I found your article. Your story and your feeling(esp. the beginning part）are exactly what I have now as a novice female programmer in China. I fell in IT world by accident, but soon I found that I really like coding and somehow be good at it. But when I took it as my major in Master study, headache appeared. Doubts intruded in my life as my first team project was assigned. Conventional beliving like “girls cannot code”, “girls will delay” or “girls never know software spirit” killed me everytime a team work assignment was set. I’ve never thought of how hard it would be to join a team as a developer rather than a tester or a document writer. These doubts grow so strong when people gossip about what a black-sheep role some girl played in some well-known scientific lab. Stories about how a girl makes ridiculous dead-loop or how girls cried after they made a big mess when they deal with complicated algorithm entertained almost every IT insiders, students and professors.(Worst of all, when the entertained students growed to be professors, they take these to amuse their students too, which makes these story believable and classic tale!) These poor anonymous, maybe also fictitious, girls together set a huge villain model for female IT players in China.

When I started a real job as intern, I finally learned what they say about “the doubt became real and tangible”, especially doubts from bosses. According to a national wide investication, feeling being under-estimated and ill-treated are the most common sense of female programmers all over China. But there is nothing to complain. On the contrary, I feel lucky to be in IT. Because in this world, the advantage is relatively describable and comparable(I think this point is what coding over art). All I need to do is make the advantage prominent enough. So I took part in national programming competitions, expecting something good can be given upon the good ideas and hardworks. Now I have reliables partners who were my former colleagues and classmates. Although they have doubts too, I’m so grateful to the trust they give me so that we can fight together.

Career is supposed to be the flask, in which one can finally distill her best. Role models? Yes, they tell you what you may expect from the distilling, but not simplify or guarantee this in any way. It takes long to form a role models. Succesful stories are good donation to accelerate this process. Hope we won the national prize! So that I can donate a bit myself too. Btw, guess what tech we take? Surely Laszlo! :)

By: Cort

Cort — Mon, 04 Jul 2005 21:37:20 +0000

Hi Sarah,

I really liked this piece. It’s definitely a big help to have good role models. When I was getting my ms in computer science it was the notion of being like some crazy haired scientist from a b-movie with a strange accent who gets to build robots and travel in minature submarines through a person’s body that helped motivate me during the tough points.

My four big role models have been my mother, my father, Harvey Pekar and one of my grandmothers.

My mother taught me how to be a workahaulic. My father taught me how to relax and waste time properly. Harvey Pekar taught me how you can do something great in your free time, regardless of what the job of the day is. And my gram taught me how to just see life as one big entertaining story, where peoples strenths and weaknesses are all just a part of the big joke.

I’m still a bit confused on the whole work life, personal life balance thing, partly as a result of being in this industry and partly because I’m just that way. Life is good though. Thank you for your story.

By: anina.net

anina.net — Wed, 15 Jun 2005 08:27:02 +0000

in my art exhibitions in paris, on the future of modeling, i said that it would not be enough anymore for models to just be objects of beauty. i said in the future they would become fully integrated beings of body mind and spirit and become role models to the younger generations ripping their pics out of the magazine and putting them on the wall to emulate. the role of supermodel is a very important role in society, as it is often the first contact many women have with female icons. i like to use my visibility as a model to give a posotive influence not only to other women, but of the power of the human spirit.

great article!

By: Bethany

Bethany — Thu, 09 Jun 2005 07:18:35 +0000

Who is my role model?

But you, of course!

By: John Henry Thompson

John Henry Thompson — Wed, 08 Jun 2005 02:43:00 +0000

One of my role models is my father, Walter Thompson. He did not have access to much formal education, he had to leave school at age 12. He always stress the need to get the most out of school as possible. His stories of his struggles to get the little education he got and his love for school touched me and made me cherish school and learning.

By: John Emmanuel

John Emmanuel — Tue, 07 Jun 2005 19:07:29 +0000

came here after i went through openlaszlo. when i saw a woman’s name in the creators section i became curious. never actually saw a ‘woman programmer’ this close.

nice place you have. and great work.

trust me. people like you inspire me to learn more.

thank you.