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Chidera Okoroama headshot
Chidera Okoroama

A new club aims to empower Black students interested in technology at UC Irvine by building a supportive community in the Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences (ICS). Chidera Okoroama, a third-year student majoring in business information management, recently launched Black in Tech @ UCI. The BiT student club, which offers a series of tech talks and workshops on networking and tips for securing internships, held its first meeting on January 13, 2025.

“We had over 20 attendees, which I wasn’t expecting!” says Okoroama, who serves as club president. “People came out and they were very, very supportive.” BiT is engaging with ICS faculty, staff and alumni, and the BiT Instagram account already has more than 150 followers.

A group photo of the Black in Tech board members
Black in Tech board members (from left): Ngozi Charles, Chidera Okoroama, Christine Oladapo, Ijeoma Arisa (front row); Daniel Gonzalez, Jason Phan, Steven Gorlicki (middle row); Chibueze Ndukwe, Kaneto Ejizu, Juan Muhirwe, and Alyas Thomas (back row).

Tech Talks & Workshops

Computer science lecturer Shannon Alfaro and Informatics Professor Roderic Crooks, as club faculty advisors, have helped line up tech speakers, and Vinh Luong from the ICS Office of Outreach, Access & Inclusion (OAI) has put Okoroama in contact with ICS alumni.

The club held its first tech talk on Monday, January 27, with Charles Sine of Advanced Genomics Research and Gregg Klang of Cern Corp sharing their experiences with startups in the health tech sector.

All UCI students are welcome to join the club events, held Mondays from 5–6 p.m. in DBH 1420.

On February 3, the club hosted a mock interview workshop with Nick Bell and Walter Myers from Microsoft.

On February 10, an ICS alumni speaker panel will feature Pierce Taylor, a software engineer at Google; Anthony D. Mays, a career coach and founder of Morgan Latimer Consulting; and Briana Jallow, a consultant for Nuvitek.

On February 24, Walter Myers will return with his Microsoft colleague Kamika Dillard to lead a resume building workshop.

Community, Confidence & Competence

Juan Muhirwe headshot
Juan Muhirwe

“Anyone at UCI who wants to come is welcome!” says Juan Muhirwe, a second-year data science major serving as BiT vice president. He explains that the club was founded on three principles: community, confidence and competence.

“While this is about creating a community for Black students,” he says, “it’s also about making ICS a space where any student can feel more confident, gain skills to be competent, and have a community backing them in everything that they do.”

The BiT club is here to help students get through the rigors of earning a degree in ICS, setting them up for future success. “We have extremely fast-paced courses with difficult material, and much of it is self-driven,” says Muhirwe, “so we want members to know they have other people here ready to support them.”

Okoroama also stresses the focus on professional development. “There’s a stigma around ICS students that we don’t know how to communicate,” she says. “We want to give students opportunities to network and attend conferences.”

BiT is looking to collaborate with other clubs on campus and with local companies. If you are a company interested in participating in a tech talk at UCI, hosting a site visit, or sponsoring students to attend conferences such as Afrotech or the Grace Hopper Celebration, fill out the BiT collaboration interest form.

Winter 2025 Calendar: 1/13 Introducing Black in tech 1/15 ICS Club Fair 1/27 Tech Startup Speakers Panel 2/3 Mock Interview Workshop 2/10 Alumni Panel 2/24 Resume Building Workshop

If you are a student interested in learning more about BiT, submit the member interest form. Okoroama encourages first-year students to get involved as well, noting that she plans to start an internship and mentorship program within the club. So check out BiT by attending one of the upcoming February events!

“Black History Month is a great time to join this club, especially given the history of Black people not being as prevalent within tech spaces,” says Muhirwe. “We’re hoping to change this history and build up a new legacy of Black computer science majors, tech entrepreneurs, and so much more!”

Shani Murray

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