Women Who Reign: Alayna Truttmann

Tell us about yourself along with a fun fact!
I’m a junior at the University of Wisconsin-Madison studying computer science, graphic design, digital studies. I haven’t always known that I wanted to go into computer science — I was curious about it, but my small high school didn’t offer any CS classes. My mom encouraged me to attend a computer science camp at Carleton College, and there I fell in love with the idea of combining my creative and logical skills in the fields of Human-Computer Interaction and UI/UX design. Coming to college without much coding experience was a challenge, but my determination to reach my career goals kept me going through difficult classes. I was fortunate to intern in the Microsoft Explore program last summer and work on developing features for a new organizational app.

Fun fact: I grew up on a dairy farm.

Favorite website / app:
My favorite website is Netflix — a little Parks & Recreation at the end of a stressful day helps me unwind.

Someone who inspires you and knowledge they have imparted:
I have a whole group of people who inspire me: The members of NCWIT (National Center for Women & Information Technology). I joined the group after winning the Aspirations in Computing award in 2014, and have been inspired by its members ever since. The stories these…