In celebration of Women’s History Month, we are thrilled to highlight Sarah Carpino, a remarkable graduate of the i.c.stars Kansas City program. Sarah’s journey from intern to IT professional at Amsted Rail exemplifies the determination, resilience, and innovative spirit that our program fosters.
Her achievements not only reflect her personal dedication but also the transformative impact of empowering women in technology. Women’s History Month is a time to honor the contributions of women who have shaped our history and continue to inspire future generations. Sarah’s story is a testament to the power of education, mentorship, and community support in breaking barriers and creating opportunities for women in tech.
Join us in celebrating Sarah Carpino, and all the incredible women who are making history today. Let’s continue to support and uplift each other as we move forward together.
Before i.c.stars, I was a nail technician at a salon and I loved it. At that time, I couldn’t see myself doing anything else. I loved the creativity of it and the genuine relationships I was making with my clients. Unfortunately, I faced circumstances that affected my ability to continue on that path. One of my clients, who knew what I was going through and my ambition, recommended me to a KCWIT event where I found out about i.c.stars. I didn’t know at the time that it would be her and this program that would change my life. For those of you who don’t know, i.c.stars is a vigorous program for diverse talent. It’s designed to test your resilience and provide opportunities.
The program focuses heavily on what we like to call the BLT: Business, Leadership, and Technology. Not only that, but we learned how to effectively work in groups and hold ourselves and each other accountable.
So let’s talk about accountability because we weren’t just supposed to show up, we had to show out every single say. We had to be there 12 hours a day, 5 days a week, and that’s not accounting for the hours after hours and the weekends just to keep up. We had to be on time to everything: classes, meetings. All coursework had to be turned in on time. And we could not show up in our jammies and slippers, we had to dress like we were interviewing at a law firm every day. And if we did not follow these rules, we would get put on a performance plan, where the next step is getting kicked out of the program.
We met several objectives like the RFP project which Valeria will touch on. Brenda will shed some light on the stress and unknown of Geek Week. We also built an application from scratch with no prior knowledge of developing. Most importantly, we got to have High Tea every day with business leaders.
It was the diverse perspective of all these different people coming together to tell their own personal and professional stories with us that we were able to see: everyone is human. We saw firsthand just how much hard work and dedication should go into everything you do in life.
The beauty in this program is that-they don’t give you all the answers. Its chaos. And it’s intentional. Not everyone makes it but it’s because of that stressful environment that we were able to persevere. It’s because of that hands on experience and real-world challenges that we were able to transform from know little to nothing-to being employed with careers in technology.
i.c.stars is more than just a program and it’s definitely not a charity. Its an opportunity. To step up and be apart of something bigger than yourself. My mom used to say, “hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard enough.” Well, I think another part of that is luck. And not everybody gets a good hand. i.c.stars is there to lend you a great hand, it’s up to you to play it right.
Sarah Carpino, i.c.stars Kansas City, Intern Cycle 01
IT Developer, Amsted Rail
Presented for iOpener Kansas City 2024