Academy recognized for work toward gender representation

WATCHUNG – Mount Saint Mary Academy recently earned the College Board’s 2022 AP Computer Science Female Diversity Award for expanding young women’s access to AP Computer Science Principles (CSP). This award has been garnered by the Academy since 2018.

This prestigious designation acknowledges 1,105 schools for their work toward equal gender representation during the 2021-2022 school year. Mount Saint Mary is one of only 832 schools to be recognized for achieving this important result in AP CSP.

Jacqueline Muratore, assistant directress for Faculty, Curriculum and Planning and a 2001 graduate of the Mount, said, “Over the past few years, we have been expanding our Computer Science Department and providing more opportunities for our students to learn about coding, problem-solving with technology, and digital design. We hope to empower our students with knowledge and help them to grow as leaders in these fields.”

Phillip Dequina, Computer Science teacher, added, “I am so proud of these girls for taking AP Computer Science Principles. Women in computer science (and STEM) have been underrepresented and I am glad to be part of a community where our girls are taking the initiative and diversifying the field.”

“I love the AP Computer Science class at Mount,” said sophomore Eliza beth (Ellie) Baglien. “The curriculum is engaging and through this class I have been introduced to a field that I may con sider a career in. I have been able to ex plore coding and other computer science concepts and it is a class I can always look forward to.”

Students from Mount Saint Mary Academy, Watchung, are shown recently working on laptop computers. Front row from left, sophomores Sarah Mooney and Zoe Tseng; center, senior Arden Schmidt; back row from left, seniors Olivia Encarnacion and Giuliana Pelcher. photo courtesy of Mount Saint Mary Academy