Newsmaker: Rachel Holladay

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https://archive.triblive.com/local/pittsburgh-allegheny/newsmaker-rachel-holladay/

Newsmaker: Rachel Holladay

By Mike Wereschagin

1 Min Read • July 23, 2016 | 7 years Ago

| Saturday, July 23, 2016 2:27 p.m.

Rachel Holladay, 21, of Slidell, La., won the 2016 Collegiate Award from the National Center for Women & IT. The rising senior at Carnegie Mellon University is double-majoring in computer science and robotics.

Noteworthy/Achievement: The National Center for Women & Information Technology awarded Holladay a 2016 Collegiate Award for her work on the Robot Gesture Engine (RoGuE). The project enables robots to generate gestures so they can better communicate with humans and in collaborative settings, according to the center. The award includes $10,000, a trophy and a trip to the annual NCWIT Summit on Women and IT.

Age: 21

Family: Parents Wendy and Ken; siblings Ben, Annie and Sam

Residence: Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood

Occupation: Holladay, a native of Slidell, La., is a rising senior at Carnegie Mellon University, where she is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in computer science with a double-major in robotics. She has been a leader in the school’s Women @ SCS and SCS4All, organizations whose mission is to broaden interest in computer science.

Quote: “It’s been a dream and goal of mine for a long time to earn a Ph.D., and I really like doing research. I think it makes sense that if you’re happy with something, you should keep doing it.”

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