San Francisco, CA, April 13, 2016 — On October 21, Toptal launched Toptal STEM Scholarships for Women, 这是一个旨在授权和支持下一代女性计算机科学家的项目, software engineers, and developers through a combination of financial support and mentorship.
Today, we’re thrilled to announce that the fourth winner of the scholarship is Tondi Butler, a Health IT Manager from Cleveland, Ohio, who is also the inspiring founder of T.E.A.M.S. Ohio, 这是一个了不起的非营利组织，旨在介绍克利夫兰/阿克伦的贫困青少年从事STEM职业.
As a scholarship winner, Tondi will receive $5,000 to use to further her educational and professional development goals, 以及来自Toptal网络的高级软件工程师为期一年的每周一对一的专业指导.
“When speaking to Tondi, her determination, intelligence, and passion for giving back to her community are immediately apparent,” said Toptal Director of Engineering Anna-Chiara Bellini, who leads the Toptal STEM Scholarships for Women initiative. “在我们做决定的时候，影响力对奖学金委员会来说是极其重要的, and it was clear to us that Tondi would take full advantage of the scholarship, and that she would amplify its impact to the larger T.E.A.M.S. Ohio community that she has built.”
T.E.A.M.S. 是Tondi于2015年创立的非营利组织，代表青少年在数学和科学方面的探索和成就. Today, 该组织每月为数十名贫困青年举办与STEM领导者的会议, focusing on 13-18 year olds in the poorest areas of the city. Tondi解释说，起初她组织了包括土木工程在内的专业人士的会议, Forensic Science, and Aerospace Engineering, she has recently narrowed the educational focus to software development, robotics, 3D design and manufacturing, and computer repair and troubleshooting.
“我的目标是教我们的学生如何在STEM领域创业, including everything from coming up with ideas, analyzing competitors, identifying target markets, filing patents, and more,” says Tondi.
尽管几乎没有资金或外部支持，汤迪还是在T.E.A.M.S. Ohio, 该组织现在正在与该地区的几所学校合作，与她的学生和学校的学生一起举办STEM研讨会. 阿克伦的勒布朗·詹姆斯男孩女孩俱乐部甚至报名参加了她的几次讲习班, and she will be hosting an event at their facility soon.
Tondi一生都对技术和软件开发充满热情, 她渴望投入并开始积累更多的开发经验，这样她就可以分享她所学到的知识来帮助她所教的学生.
“I came from a foster care background, 在哪里，我很难专注于职业发展，或者找到一个能给我指明方向的人,” says Tondi. “When I aged out of foster care, I started college and knew I wanted to major in Computer Science, but in the first class I took, no one wanted to team with me, and I had an extremely hard time understanding the professor. 我最终获得了卫生管理的学位，主修信息学, but I never lost my love for Computer Science.”
Through her own internal drive and determination, Tondi以优异的成绩毕业，并成为一名成功的医疗IT专业人士. 她计划用获得的奖学金参加一个编程训练营，这样她就可以快速培养自己的软件工程技能.
“我想和我的Toptal导师一起完成一个我已经考虑了一段时间的项目——建立一个KPI应用程序，让我的学生看到引人入胜的视觉效果，清楚地显示他们的业务是如何做的，以及他们需要改进的地方,” says Tondi.
In the long-term, Tondi’s goals include scaling T.E.A.M.S. Ohio so that she can get her own building, lab facilities, and computers. Ultimately, 她希望该组织成为一个创新中心，不仅为贫困青年在STEM领域的成功职业生涯做好准备, 但同时也要走在技术的前沿，创造出对行业有重大影响的产品.
“My students are full of ideas, and it’s really amazing to see,” says Tondi. “They’re thinking of everything from apps that monitor electricity usage, winter boots that automatically heat up when you put them on your feet, and bracelets that monitor sleep patterns to wake you up at optimal hours. All of these children want to grow up and make their own footprint in technology. So how can I do as much as possible to help them? 我怎样才能让他们明白，他们的过去并不会限制他们未来的潜力? I want that to be my legacy.”
Tondi especially wants to inspire the girls in the T.E.A.M.S. Ohio community, as she has noticed that many of them have begun to lose interest, 因为来该组织演讲的STEM专业人士主要是男性. 作为一名软件工程师，她被驱使去培养自己的技能，这样社区里的女孩们就会把她当作一个榜样，并继续参与其中.
Tondi还解释说，该组织在社区内的进展是如此积极，以至于她的许多学生的父母也对学习感兴趣, particularly about topics around robotics. 对于一个渴望学习但进入STEM领域机会有限的社区来说, Tondi’s work is already having an enormous impact.
Tondi’s passion for technology, dedication to helping others, 以及培养自己和周围所有人技能的决心真的令人惊叹，这将是她在T取得长期成功的基础.E.A.M.S. Ohio.
At Toptal, 我们深受Tondi的故事所鼓舞，并很高兴能够支持她和她的组织，因为她建立了T.E.A.M.S. 成为克利夫兰/阿克伦社区贫困青年的创新和教育中心. 我们迫不及待地想和她一起工作，看看她将来能取得什么成就.
请和我们一起祝贺Tondi Butler成为Toptal STEM女性奖学金项目的第四位获奖者!
About Toptal STEM Scholarships for Women
Toptal STEM女性奖学金由12个奖学金组成，每年每月颁发一次, with Tondi as the fourth scholarship winner. 世界各地任何教育水平的女性都有资格申请赢得5美元奖金,000美元，每周一对一的技术培训和来自Toptal高级技术专家的指导, 为了帮助他们追求他们的目标，成为未来的专业软件工程师.
The first scholarship winner was Rojina Bajracharya, a Python developer, entrepreneur, and mentor from Bhaktapur, Nepal. The second scholarship winner was Ana Sustic来自斯洛文尼亚卢布尔雅那的Python开发人员、系统管理员和项目经理. The third winner was Gabriela Mancini, a freelance designer and former primary school teacher from Córdoba, Argentina.
申请Toptal女性开发者奖学金，并了解更多有关该计划的信息, visit http://6yrpv7zg.ivygaja.com/scholarships.
About Toptal
Founded in 2010, Toptal是硅谷涌现的发展最快、最具创新性的公司之一. With backing from Andreessen Horowitz, Silicon Valley’s famed venture capital firm, Adam D’Angelo, founder of Quora, Ryan Rockefeller, and other investors, 今天，Toptal连接了来自世界各地的数千名精英自由软件工程师和设计师,000 blue chips such as J.P. Morgan and Pfizer, tech companies such as Airbnb and Zendesk, 以及众多初创公司提供世界级的解决方案，以满足最复杂和最具挑战性的需求. Toptal的快速增长证明了客户需求的爆炸式增长，以及公司服务无与伦比的质量和可靠性.
Media Inquiries
Joellen Ferrer
Toptal, LLC
+1 (415) 308-8209
joellen@ivygaja.com
