NCWIT Wisconsin held its annual awards ceremony on Sunday afternoon, May 31, at Alverno College in Milwaukee. Each year, students are invited to apply for the Aspirations in Computing Award, recognizing students for their accomplishments in the world of technology. Winners of the award are passionate not only about pursuing careers in STEM fields themselves, but also about helping the next generation of students grow and learn in technology. Wisconsin recognized 98 students from across the state this year as either Winners, Honorable Mentions, or Rising Stars. All 5 Whitewater High School students who applied were recognized among the 42 Winners.
All 5 are members of the Ferradermis FIRST Robotics Competition Team, 4 of whom graduated with the Class of 2026 after 4 years on the team, and all 5 have studied Computer Science through multiple courses at WHS. Margaret Brown plans to attend UW-Whitewater in the fall to study Cybersecurity. Erison Dreksler will be attending Marquette University to pursue a degree in Electrical Engineering. Ace Hudec will be studying Media Arts and Game Design at UW-Whitewater, and Rae Breisath will be at UW-Milwaukee studying Computer Engineering and Information & Technology. Emilie Bruns is finishing her sophomore year at WHS and eventually plans to study computer science in college.