Mamaroneck Senior to Be Honored with Women in Technology Award

MAMARONECK, NY — Mamaroneck High School senior Lucie le Blanc will be honored among “women pioneering some of the world’s most important science and technology in Westchester,” according to information from the Westchester County Association.

The organization will hold a luncheon next month to recognize the recipients of the third annual Women in Technology awards.

Le Blanc received this award for the work she has done both inside and outside the classroom and was selected from a slate of prominent professional honorees.

“This is a tremendous accomplishment and a much deserved recognition for all the hard work Lucie has put in for the past three years,” said MHS Computer Science Teacher Jigar Jadav, who nominated le Blanc for the award.

Last year, she co-created a new coding club at the high school which was subsequently merged with the Computer Science Club. The club grew to more than 20 regularly attending students, who initially joined the club with very little if any coding experience and met during their lunchtime and after school to learn web development.

She recently named a semifinalist in the 62nd annual National Merit Scholarship Program.

Le Blanc worked with the students to assist them in developing new coding skills and applying them to everyday life scenarios. This year, she is co-president of MHS’s Computer Science Club, working with students to participate in local, regional and national competitions.

During the summer of 2015, Lucie worked at AT&T in New York City as part of the Girls Who Code Program. She acquired programming skills in Python, Robotics and Cyber-Security and built a web service designed to help teens manage their money before going to college. This past summer, she worked with the Village of Larchmont to help them re-design content for their website.

“We are proud to honor the women innovators and visionaries who are improving our lives and moving our country forward, and at the same time encourage the next generation of women scientists and mathematicians to reach for the stars,” said William Mooney Jr., president and CEO of the Westchester County Association. “There were many strong candidates for these awards, and we congratulate Lucie, our only high school student selected, on her extraordinary dedication to the STEM field.”

Included among the Women in Technology Professionals Honorees are:

• Rebecca Jones, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Neuroscience in Psychiatry, New York-Presbyterian/Center for Autism and the Developing Brain
• Dr. Xu Rong, M.D., Ph.D., Principal Research Scientist, Profectus BioSciences
• Theodora Diamantis, Project Director, Skanska USA Building Inc.
• Jean F. Coppola, Associate Professor, Information Technology, Pace University
• Karen D’Ambrosio, Senior Director Information Technology, Montefiore Health System

The Women in Technology Student Honorees are:

• Lucie le Blanc, Senior, Mamaroneck High School
• Esmeralda Michaca, Junior, Purchase College, SUNY

The 2016 Women in Technology Award luncheon will take place on Thursday, October 20, 2016, at the Tappan Hill Mansion in Tarrytown. In addition to receiving this honor, Lucie was also recognized last year as the NY Regional Runner-Up for the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) Aspirations in Computing Award.

Photo credit: Patch file photo.