Dev Catalyst Student Wins Big for Women’s History Month

Maria McConkey is a student worth watching out for. Recognized by the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT), McConkey isn’t an ordinary Jackson Christian School (JCS) student. According to her teacher, she is extraordinary.

“Maria always goes above and beyond what is asked of her,” JCS math teacher and Webmaster, Donna Newberry, explained. Newberry has had the privilege of teaching the budding tech talent in JCS’s and Dev Catalyst-sponsored Web Design, Web Application, and Web Development classes. 

Last year, McConkey finished in the top ten students competing for Dev Catalyst’s Code Champion award. Winners received an all-expense-paid trip to San Francisco, where they tour tech companies like Apple, Google, and LinkedIn.

To add to her resume, McConkey spent the summer working alongside four other Dev Catalyst standouts on the official Socktober site sponsored by Brad Montague and Kid President.

According to ncwit.org, NCWIT is a non-profit community designed to convene, equip, and unite organizations who lead in the inclusion of women.

McConkey was recently awarded the award for Aspiration in Computing. Since 2007, the award has been given to young women in high school across the nation who have shown an interest and aspiration in technology. As a student at JCS,  McConkey expressed her interest in computing by participating the theCO’s Dev Catalyst program. Since starting in the fall of 2015, McConkey has an award for her final coding project, as well as the experience with the Socktober website.

McConkey plans to attend Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville, Tennessee, after graduation from JCS in May.