Glenbrook South Girl Blazes Trail for Women in Computer Science

A Glenbrook South High School senior is breaking down barriers for women in the field of computer science.

The Chicago Tribune recently reported that Lauren Ribordy, an 18-year-old Glenview resident, became the first female high school student to ever compete as part of a team at the SC14 Student Cluster Competition in New Orleans, a “super-computing event that brings together students from all over the world.”

The competition features a clear majority of college students, as Ribordy competed at the November competition alongside five undergraduate students - all men - from the Illinois Institute of Technology.

The coach of Ribordy’s team told the Tribune that while high school students are invited to participate, “they rarely do.” In fact, Ribordy was the only high school student to take part in the 2014 competition.

The IIT team competed on eight computers using hardware worth roughly $250,000, the Tribune stated. Students put together top-of-the-line hardware to run a set of applications using a limited amount of power.

Read more via the Chicago Tribune