Rebecca Parker (she/her)

Rebecca was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, and was interested in math and science from a young age. In middle school and high school, she never explored computer science, because she was intimidated by people who already seemed to know everything about coding. However, in school at the University of Missouri in Columbia, she took a computer science course on a whim and changed her major three weeks later. Since then, she has been soaking up as much knowledge as she can about the field and has been loving every second. Although shy, Rebecca has taken the internship at Google as an opportunity to branch out and take ownership of her learning. She is quickly overcoming her fear of asking questions and is embracing this newfound ability to learn and grow much faster than before.

“This may seem small, but I’m very proud of myself for asking one of my hosts to teach me about debugging just yesterday! I have struggled my entire life with speaking up for myself and asking questions. I have always been very shy, as well as anxious about what people will think of me. I worry that others will think I am unintelligent if I ask questions. But over the course of my internship, I have really branched out and taken ownership of my learning. I am quickly overcoming my fear of asking questions and embracing this newfound ability to learn and grow much faster than before.”

Source of inspiration: Long hikes or bike rides outside, which allow Rebecca to do her best thinking.

Book Recommendation: Knowing God by J.I. Packer