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Winner of the Avon Hello Tomorrow Fund - December 4, 2007
Suzanne Menzel Honored with $5,000 Avon Hello Tomorrow Fund Award
December 4, 2007

Bloomington, Indiana Resident Wins Cash Award To Fund Program Encouraging Young Women's Awareness Of Careers In Computing


(New York, NY, December 4, 2007) Bloomington, Indiana resident Suzanne Menzel, 47, is committed to improving the lives of women and their families in her community. Suzanne was named this week’s winner of the Avon Hello Tomorrow Fund, a weekly $5,000 cash award program from Avon Products, Inc. to support individuals in their work to empower women. Suzanne will apply her award towards “Bring IT On!”, an initiative designed to expand the reach of the successful JustBe program, which provides outreach, mentoring and guidance to encourage K-12 girls to pursue careers in computing and Information Technology (IT).

According to statistics from the Computer Research Association, women earned only 15% of the bachelor’s degrees awarded in computer science and engineering in 2005, down from an already low 17% in 2004. Suzanne, a senior lecturer in computer science at Indiana University, attributes this startling unbalance to “the prevailing stereotype of the anti-social computer geek.” The “uncool” perception associated with these disciplines – which can lead to lucrative and rewarding careers in a growing field – can be particularly powerful during girls’ formative K-12 school years, a time in which many are especially concerned about how they are perceived by their peers.

Through her extensive involvement in efforts to mentor and support women in computing, Suzanne set out to counter these detrimental attitudes and joined forces with the Women in Computing group of Indiana University to create JustBe – a K-12 outreach road show that highlights the benefits of IT careers. In 2006, Indiana University students presented JustBe to 900 children and 250 college students in southern Indiana communities. This successful initiative had a positive impact on its target geographic area, and Suzanne realized that simultaneous efforts of many schools could achieve a sustained change in attitudes on a national level.

To help reach a broader audience, in 2006 Suzanne introduced “Bring IT On!”, a major dissemination effort to educate other college students about the benefits of programs such as JustBe. “Bring IT On!” offers workshops and materials to students at universities, equipping them to create outreach programs similar to JustBe in their area’s local schools. This expansion will spread the important message about careers in computing and IT, and open young women’s interest in exploring opportunities for successful futures in these burgeoning fields. Suzanne believes that greater nationwide participation will lead to a significant change in attitudes, and ultimately increase women’s participation in computer and IT fields.

Critical to achieving the maximum effectiveness of the program and propelling its future success is communication among schools, including sharing challenges and successes to strengthen the program. With her Avon Hello Tomorrow Fund award, Suzanne will implement a summit meeting for the inaugural Bring IT On! participants, thereby enabling them to learn from one another’s progress and challenges to build stronger and even more successful future programs. The award money will be used towards subsidizing the costs of travel, meals, supplies, facility rental, and work-study programming. Thanks to the Avon Hello Tomorrow Fund and the programming of Bring IT On! and JustBe, Suzanne will be able to help educate more young women and dispel the negative myths surrounding computing, allowing them to consider an important career option.

Suzanne’s winning application to the Avon Hello Tomorrow Fund fell under the category of “Community Service,” one of three areas the Fund supports. Her proposal met the criteria to clearly present unique and achievable objectives to empower women or girls and ultimately improve society. It was selected from a pool of strong contenders by an expert panel of judges, including Suze Orman, America’s most recognized expert on personal finance. “This strategy of expanding a program through training ‘trainers’ seems timely,” noted UNIFEM Public Affairs Specialist Joan Libby-Hawk – the most recent appointee to the Fund’s judging panel – of Suzanne’s application.

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