NEUMONT ALUM VOLUNTEERS WITH SHETECH

NEUMONT ALUM VOLUNTEERS WITH SHETECH

Being in the field of technology comes with more than just cool gadgets and tech know-how; you have an entire tech community to be a part of. Neumont alum, Brett Kotter, learned this as a volunteer mentor with SheTech, the largest industry-led STEM program to engage high school girls to follow STEM college degree paths.

Brett graduated from Neumont with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science 11 years ago. Today, he is a Software Engineering Manager with Vivint Smart Home, a Utah-based and founded company that provides home monitoring systems. In the last two years, he’s been involved with SheTech, as a mentor. Most recently, his work included mentoring a team of six girls from Utah in a virtual event in which they had to navigate a course with a Sphero robot.

“My team blew me out of the water with their creativity! They brought good ideas to the table and fought for the ideas they believed in. I was proud of what we did and that I could mentor them!”

On Brett’s current team at Vivint Smart Home, only two members are women– “Statistics like these must change and SheTech encourages that change,” said Kotter. He went on to explain that the growing Utah tech hub, Silicon Slopes, won’t succeed long-term unless more women are encouraged to pursue roles in technology.

“Programs like SheTech encourage young women at a pivotal time to pursue a career in tech. I pled with each of the girls that I mentored to start, or continue, taking STEM courses and pursue a career in technology.”

Looking forward, Brett says SheTech gives him hope that the future team he manages will be more diverse, resulting in better ideas, products, and services to customers. He’s going to continue combating the stigma that only men are interested in technology and breaking down any barriers preventing women from pursuing careers in tech.

Neumont College of Computer Science echoes these sentiments and encourages women to follow a career path in technology. We’re proud to be a SheTech partner and look forward to inspiring young women and sharing their message with our community of fellow tech companies.