“The most dangerous phrase in the language is, ‘We’ve always done it this way.’” This quote from the late Grace Hopper, a computer scientist, is what inspires Hannah Z. who is a computer science major at Harvard. This New Face of Tech winner’s dream is to engineer tech for social good.

What does being the New Face of Tech mean to you?

To me, it means advocating for other women in technology and furthering diversity in the field.

Women are underrepresented in STEAM. How can we change this?

I hope we can change this by shifting people’s perspectives on what women are capable of — and also not letting others perpetuate stereotypes.

What are some of the challenges you have faced along the way?

Some challenges I’ve faced are finding female mentors in fields I am interested in and staying motivated to achieve my goals.

How do you stay motivated and focused on your goals?

I stay focused by planning my tasks for each day in a calendar/planner and keeping myself accountable by working with teams.

How will funding from the 1,000 Dreams Fund and HARMAN help you reach your goals?

It will be incredibly beneficial toward helping me reach my goals by funding my college education.