On May 4th, the 2017 Athena Pinnacle Awards recognized outstanding women in Life Sciences, Education, Technology, Service, Companies, Tech Startups, and Life Science Startups. As a sponsor, ScaleMatrix attended the awards event which was an impressive night celebrating the accomplishments of women in the San Diego community and to raise money to support STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematic) programs in schools and education scholarships.
Five high school senior women were awarded education scholarships for their university studies. The passion they have for learning, leading, and giving in their communities is very impressive. From leading a team for a module assigned to NASA’s SpaceX-11 launch, acceptance into the Summer Medical Academy at Rady Children’s Hospital and UCSD, to founding robotics clubs at their schools; these young ladies are ready to make a difference in the world. It is encouraging and exciting to know they have the support from their teachers, the community of Athena and supporting companies to keep moving them forward.
A highlight of the evening was guest speaker Haben Girma, J.D., White House Champion of Change. Her unbelievable story of determination as the first deaf-blind graduate of Harvard Law School was an inspiration to the audience. Haben has a charming personality and was able to read reactions from the audience by using a digital Braille device. Her touching story included the most basic need of reading a menu so she knows what the cafeteria is serving for lunch. Haben emphasized the need for schools to consider accessibility when investing in emerging technologies. She challenged the audience of STEM professionals to increase access to digital information for people with disabilities.
ScaleMatrix is proud to be a supporting partner of Athena.
Stephanie Mansolino
VP of Marketing, ScaleMatrix
