Computer Science - MS

When a fellow student asked Fernanda Tovar to co-found a chapter of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) at New York Institute of Technology, she was intrigued. She had heard about the organization before and had even attended an SHPE event at a different chapter. Yet, she paused before taking on the task. “I was a little hesitant about being part of a club so late in my undergrad [years], but after seeing what SHPE could offer to students like me, I was inspired to think big,” she says. “I wanted to help build this chapter to advance the future for STEM students at New York Tech.” Soon after, she became the secretary of the chapter and when she decided to continue her studies and pursue her master's degree in computer science at New York Tech, it gave her the opportunity to help grow the chapter she helped found.

As the proud daughter of Mexican immigrants, Tovar believes in pursuing her goals to the best of her ability. “My parents are the ones who motivated me to succeed in life and did all they could to provide me with an education to do so,” she says. “They wanted me to succeed and be happy in what I chose to do, and for me, that was computer science.”