Influencing the Young, Spanish-speaking Female Generation
Outside of work, married couple Denisse Osorio de Large, a Cerner Director in Population Health Development, and Steven Large, a Cerner Senior Director in IP Development, are passionate about creating a younger generation that is passionate about technology and introducing them to the vast world of opportunities in software development. In addition to volunteering in the STEM community, helping organize Cerner’s development conference (DevCon), and speaking at conferences, Denisse and Steven enjoy working with children in the spanish-speaking community.
Last year, Denisse (who is Colombian and a spanish-speaking native) and Steven (who is fluent in spanish) hosted two coding events specifically catered to spanish speaking families in partnership with Girl Scouts. The goals of these events, “Pastelitos y Programación” (“Coding and Cupcakes”), were to provide a safe and inclusive environment for girls to program, grow leadership abilities, and love solving problems with code. Girls enjoyed completing coding challenges from code.org and playing Labyrinths for Angry Birds. In the game, the girls had fun figuring out how to guide birds through a labyrinth to the pigs (see more about the event in the video below) using programming concepts.
In recognition of their passion for developing future innovators in STEM, Girl Scouts honored Denisse and Steven Large for their work in hosting the Pastelitos y Programación (Coding and Cupcakes) at Cerner. The Girl Scouts Innovator Award recognizes volunteers who saw a problem and developed an innovative solution to further Girl Scouting. These family events help bridge the communication gap between parents and girls when it comes to participating in Girl Scout events. With their passion and dedication for volunteering in the community, Denisse and Steven are encouraging more girls to become involved with STEM activities. Congratulations, Denisse and Steven!
