At the awesome Sponsor Party at Grace Hopper this year, held at the Georgia Aquarium, the stars of the show were the Buluga whales and the Whale Sharks. But just as cool were these guys on the right.
They were smaller than nearly everyone, and mostly swum around the tank in a dance with all the other, bigger fish. But when they needed to, they all swim very close together to appear bigger. This shoal got chased by the hammerhead in the tank, but always came back together for mutual protection and support.
Hopper feels like this kind of group. Technical women don’t need to huddle all the time, but once in a while we need to know the power of the shoal.
In the video room at Hopper, I told the interviewer that I love Hopper because when I’m in the only woman in the room, I close my eyes, see the women I met at Hopper, and know I’m not the only women in the room.
Even if we’re only together for a short period of time during the conference, and even if we can’t all band together when we feel threatened by the hammerhead sharks in our lives, we can imagine our shoals. Together, we are big fish.
Inspirational Quote:
Kaylee: [panting] No power in the ‘verse… can stop me!
Loved this analogy! Thank you Jessica for sharing this great perspective about the power of GHC.
I’m glad you liked it! GHC is such an important and special place; I can’t wait until Portland.