Breaking barriers to diversity in computer science

Lisa Baer had little hesitation making the decision in her freshman year to major in computer science.

Now, looking forward to graduating from Arizona State University in the spring, Baer says she has never second-guessed her choice. In fact, she is “more passionate than ever” in pursuit of a career as a computer scientist.

But despite the confidence she gained in her abilities in the field during the past four years, she wasn’t completely immune to what psychologists call the “impostor syndrome.”

“It’s that feeling you get that your accomplishments aren’t due to your own merits, and fearing that one day you will be exposed and disappoint people,” she says.

She wasn’t alone among her fellow female computer science students in experiencing such feelings.