Women Who Reign: Irene Woo

“Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.” — Anais Nin
~~~~

Tell us about yourself along with a fun fact!
My name is Irene and I’m a second-year student in Math and Computer Science at McGill University. I grew up in France but I’ve been living in New York for the past 5 years. In high school, I was very interested in AI and machine learning. I came to McGill with no programming experience and I fell in love with computer science. I have posted some of my projects on my website: http://irenewoo.com/. I care a lot about empowering women in STEM. As Vice President Internal of the Computer Science Undergraduate Society, I am working on a campaign to raise funds to send students to the Grace Hopper Celebration. In my free time, I enjoy watching stand-up comedy, travelling, and filmmaking. I love cats and I have two back home. I also have a sweet tooth so I enjoy discovering new bakeries in Montreal and in New York.

Fun fact: I moved to New York a few days before Hurricane Irene hit the area.

What # would define your life journey?
#DreamBig
You are able to accomplish things bigger than yourself if you dare to dream them. There were many times when I told myself some things were not doable. After talking to some friends, I realized I needed to dream bigger and believe that with hard work and dedication, everything is achievable.

Favorite website / app:
Hacker News

Someone who inspires you and knowledge they have imparted:
My parents have inspired me throughout my entire life. My father comes from China and moved to France when he was two. He learned French by himself and was in charge of paperwork for his family from a very young age. He attended one of the best schools in France and is now a world-class leader in digital payments and commerce. My father worked incredibly hard all of his life and he is one of my role models.

My mother inspires me to pursue all of my interests. She studied computer science, worked as a…