“Anytime someone mentioned computer science, I compared myself to them and I never quite felt like I had the ability to do what they were doing,” Paniagua said.

“Anytime someone mentioned computer science, I compared myself to them and I never quite felt like I had the ability to do what they were doing,” Paniagua said. “All my misconceptions of computer science made me believe that the field wasn’t meant for me.” “The program was a life-changing experience for me,” says Paniagua, who now plans to major in computer science, cognitive science or both. ---- Over the past two years, the number of women graduating with degrees in computer science and in electrical engineering and computer science (EECS) majors has increased by 47%, and the number of students from underrepresented minority backgrounds following same path has increased by 43%, reports Berkeley’s EECS department, which runs the programs. Improvements in diversity are also evident at the graduate level: Between fall 2011 and fall 2018, the percentage of women in EECS graduate programs jumped from 14.5% to 22.5% and the number of underrepresented minority students grew from 27 to 41. ---- Kudos to Berkeley, these results are seriously impressive, and highlight how much a little bit of outreach can do to improve the quality of life of others.