There’s something uniquely special about receiving an award from the people who mentored you and nurtured your career from the start. I got to experience that joy at the 30th Anniversary Celebration of the Center for Human-Computer Interaction at Virginia Tech (CHCI@VT). I will treasure this one always.
I also had the distinct pleasure of meeting Deborah Hix, co-author of the first HCI textbook. Then, I discovered she was the first woman to earn a PhD in the Department of Computer Science at VT, and when she became faculty, she co-founded the Association for Women in Computing—the organization for which I later served as President, and to which I attribute my persistence in the field. I gave her a big hug. We made plans to convene all 3 AWC co-founders and coordinate a panel with the current members!
Of course, spending quality time with my former advisors Scott McCrickard, Steve Harrison, and Deborah Tatar, as well as the founder of our center, Jack Carroll, and other inspirational academics Mary Beth Rosson and Andrea Kavanaugh, was an unexpected treat. I didn’t know I needed to see them and think about where I come from, how they helped shape me, and where I’m going, but I did. Well worth flying across the country and through the tiniest little airport ever, where sometimes airplanes run off the runway 😅
