Kathy

Today is Ada Lovelace day which exists to highlight the many amazing and talented women in STEM. I’m bending the rules a little as I’m going to talk about Kathy today though she is not in STEM.

I’ve never known anyone so excited by what’s new in technology.

She has always embraced technology to do her job better, she was one of the first in her office to be assigned a computer (back in the ’80s!). Right from the beginning she could see that it would make her life easier and became an expert. Wherever she has worked, she has been the go-to person in the office for getting tech support. After she retired, she has continued to be so interested in computers and what they offer that she qualified to teach adult-education night classes in computing.

Over the years, her enthusiasm for tech has, if anything, increased. She has been an early adopter of every Microsoft operating system from Vista, all the way through to Window 10 as she is excited about what’s next. I clearly remember her scorn at the idea of returning to Windows 7 as she was quite clear that the future was forwards, not backwards. She has also found time to investigate OS X and determine whether that operating system would improve her computing life or not. it didn’t!

The smartphone revolution hasn’t passed her by either. Firstly with Blackberries (for BBM) and now iPhones, Kathy has continued to ensure that she keeps up with the latest in mobile tech. Technology is there to make our lives easier and Kathy embraces it as fast as anyone that I know.

It’s very easy to become jaded and take the tech around us for granted. It’s also easy to assume that older people have less interest, however Kathy’s enthusiasm for what’s coming in the future inspires me.