Student spotlight: Coda Richmond
Coda Richmond knows she made the right choice in studying computer science at the University of Illinois Chicago.
The fourth-year student found the diversity she sought at UIC and a supportive environment that helped nurture her, which she trusts will open many doors to professional success when she graduates.
“I just think that UIC has given me the space to find what I’m truly passionate about and has surrounded me with the people who are helping me get there,” said Richmond. “I’ve met a really amazing friend group and really amazing people here.”
New engineering building
Richmond spoke at the July 16 ribbon-cutting celebration of UIC’s state-of-the-art Computer Design Research and Learning Center.
The 135,000-square-foot building features 16,000 square feet of classroom space, 21 faculty research labs and a 1,200-square-foot robotics lab.
The building, which is part of UIC’s campus master plan, will enhance the communal environment by providing more spaces to gather and learn from peers. The new research spaces will also provide invaluable opportunities for students.
“It gives a space to network and have connections with people who might help us get jobs in the future or who might be our colleagues in the future,” Richmond said. “Having the new engineering building gives us a really good community space to make those connections.”
Richmond looks forward to making use of the new building this fall and hopes to give back to the UIC community by helping to spread the word. She wants others to know that there’s a place for Black women in STEM.
“I just want to be in a role that I didn’t get to see when I was growing up,” she said.
Choosing UIC
Richmond, who is from Ann Arbor, Michigan, said she chose UIC because of its location in the heart of Chicago, where she would be in a bigger city environment and exposed to more diversity. Her focus on computer science seemed a natural fit for her because she loved math and science, which allowed her to utilize her technical abilities.
While she took her first computer science course in high school, she was a little disheartened when she was one of only three female students in the class. She looked to her older brother, who is in the computer science field, as a role model. He convinced her to follow her dream, even though computer science is a male-dominated field.
At UIC, she found the support she needed by taking part in Break Through Tech, a national initiative focusing on achieving gender equity in technology.
Break Through Tech Chicago began at UIC in 2020 after Cornell Tech launched the initiative in 2016 to increase opportunities for women and nonbinary students to pursue tech degrees and careers. As a first-year student, Richmond took part in the program’s annual Sprinternships, a three-week paid micro-internship designed to transform students’ career trajectories.
Richmond’s mission to bring more women into the field led to her co-founding a new club chapter at UIC. This chapter of the national organization, Women in Cybersecurity, also known as WiCyS, is going into its second year and has a roster of more than 100 engaged and active students, said Richmond, who is in the Honors College and is on the Dean’s List.
Her work at UIC led her to summer internships at Morningstar, including this summer. Her dream is to land a job at Morningstar after graduation and continue to grow her knowledge of cybersecurity. She credits her parents — her mother is a lawyer and her father is a police officer — with instilling a strong work ethic in her.
“My plan is to stay in Chicago the next decade or the next two decades and hopefully start my career at Morningstar because it is a great company and I really like the people and the work,” said Richmond. “Because of the club I helped found at UIC, I want to stay a strong alum, and I want to be there for all the students who haven’t graduated yet.”
