BIRMINGHAM – The gorgeous Birmingham Country Club was the setting May 15 for the Michigan Council for Women in Technology 9th Annual Scholarship Awards and Partner Recognition program that celebrated the next generation of women in IT while giving volunteers and sponsors a chance to see their impact first-hand.

MCWT President Maru Flores kicked off the event by honoring several young women who were selected for awards who then spoke in front of the crowd of more than 150 MCWT Supporters. Each young woman displayed confidence, intelligence, and passion for technology. Some received scholarships for higher education; one woman received a Graduate Scholarship for her Masters degree. Others were given laptops and software donated by Dell and Microsoft. More than 60 organizations and community partners also were recognized for their support of MCWT in money, time, and volunteerism.

The President?s Undergraduate Scholarship was awarded to Zilphia Martin who is already working as an intern at Secure 24 while studying penetration testing in her Bachelors and Masters of Science combination program at the University of Detroit Mercy.

?I am honored to be recognized by a group that caters to women in technology. My goal is to be an inspiration to other African American women and encourage them to achieve their own dreams in the IT sphere,? Martin said.

Savannah Ruby was one of the laptop winners headed to Michigan State University. She too said that she was ?honored to received a laptop from MCWT and it will be put to great use at the University. MCWT pairs my love for volunteering with technology and I hope to stay involved moving forward.?

MCWT has awarded more than $640,000 in scholarships during the nine year life of this program. Congratulations to all the recipients of the MCWT scholarship programs including Alexandria Chisholm, Hannah Kochendoerfer, Melinda Kothbauer, Zilphia Martin, Olivia Miller, Rachel Polus, Lauren Rinkus, Savannah Ruby, Andrea Salamay, Sierris Smith, Barbara Tegart, Rebecca Wolanin, and Sierre Wolfkostin.

Associate Editor Nicole Johnson leads MITechNews.Com?s efforts to foster STEM education, as well as provides coverage for her fellow women in computing. If you have a story idea for Nicole, email [email protected] Follow Nicole on Twitter: @tech_nicole