It was a great empowering evening I attended on March 26, 2025, with an event to celebrate International Women’s Day (IWD) at the Fulton Market in Chicago. The event had a room full of women in tech panelists, to encourage other women to step forward no matter the challenges or the politics. How the kick to survival shouldn’t die, to get to the throne of dreams meant for every individual.
How was the fun part of any successful meetup in Chicago: the food? Well, the organizers arranged pepperoni pizzas and unfortunately, there was nothing veg so I had to skip, but a foodie can never go without food, can they? There were chocolates and I grabbed some Hershey’s kisses, maybe a bit more than others.
As the session kicked in, it was almost like a group podcast show about the world of IT and women. These amazing people were a bit honest about their journey where women get scrutinized in the recognition cycle even after giving their best on top as if it’s not a female thing. Why cannot people generalize women’s intelligence? The whole hall was silent as their voice echoed. You know what? This was the only question that mattered. This event was like walking a red carpet for ambitious girls and women out there, guiding you to throw away all your fears, wear the armor and, claim what was always meant for you.
The event continued with the hot subtopic of the day: Generative AI. GenAI is the next stop, something to be there in every IT professional’s tech stack. If not development, then proficiency in using it. The panelists were diving deep into the AI world with the growing trends and how people can materialize their skills with it. Since there are pros and cons of GenAI, they also mentioned scenarios where GenAI is not to be trusted. Which is a firm direction towards becoming a fair decision-maker.
The third agenda of the amazing event was a questionnaire. People were asking about the smart way of survival in the U.S. — especially for international students — and the best way to grab internships or come in perfect visibility of recruiters.
As the evening headed towards the session wrap, we were given a chance to meet the panelists personally. Let me elaborate on my conversation with each panelist.
Mary Grygleski, director at Callibrity and a TEDx speaker. She has experience of around 2 decades now in the IT industry in full-stack world and currently exploring all nooks and corners of AI. It felt so damn great seeing such women even with so much passion and intriguing curiosity to know any and everything in the tech world, where most people settle for their long-term jobs. To her, I asked about my confusion about molding my path toward the AI domain. Her advice, seeing the current job statistics it’s safer to play in the known fields, and once established, it would be comparatively easier to sail through the transition.
Amanda Hinchman Dominguez, Android Engineer at Adyen. She was also one of the organizers of the evening. Her advice, tips, and tricks for international students to keep floating in the high-tide market were very insightful. She said I should be able to handle the expected salary questions. It should not go blank or very high but somewhere near average or below. She also advised me to keep unpaid options on a considerable list and try hard for research options, as it is easier and a profile booster.
Shree Parida, Lead Operation Strategist at Discover. She was the only Indian there. Meeting someone from your home country can be quite emotionally catchy. This woman is a person whose voice and opinions can never go unheard, not by the volume but by the weight the opinions carry on a bigger picture. She was naturally inviting by nature. And since then, she has been supporting me through my internship hunt, and still, she is.
Octavia Tey, Senior Technical Consultant at Huron. The evening was getting delayed for the final wrap-up, so I just had a chance to grab a quick chat with her, inquiring about any opening at her workplace. Even this short catchup was quite warm and welcoming.
All in whole, the event was a quiet success, achieving the target of fueling women’s minds with a passion for their careers. It was very suggestive for international students, not only for motivation but for great networking as well. Who knows who could become your wing-woman at any point in time?
