About

Portrait of Katya Borgos-Rodriguez. Katya smiles at the camera and is wearing a black blouse. The background shows a small glimpse of historic architecture and landscape from The Pearl in San Antonio, Texas, USA.

Who am I?

I was born and raised in Puerto Rico, where I completed a B.S. in Computer Engineering before moving to the United States for graduate school. In 2022, I graduated from Northwestern University with a Ph.D. in Technology and Social Behavior. My doctoral research focused on accessibility and creative communities.

Interests and Passions

I have identified as an artist since very young, and in fact originally wanted to become an illustrator or video game concept artist before pursuing a career in tech! For this reason, I am particularly passionate about supporting products within creative spaces.

As someone that understands the challenges of being in a field where there are not many individuals with whom I share a cultural background, an important component of my work involves efforts to provide encouragement and support to people that identify as Hispanic/Latinx interested in computing or graduate school. 

When I was an undergraduate student, I took on a leadership role in my institution’s IEEE Women in Engineering affinity group, where I helped organize and run workshops with the goal of encouraging Hispanic/Latinx middle and high school students to consider studying engineering. During my time in graduate school, I co-founded Latin@CS, a student-led organization to support individuals that identify as Hispanic/Latinx in computing fields at Northwestern. In addition to holding leadership roles, I mentored undergraduate and graduate students in earlier stages of their careers. I would love to continue finding ways to support my community as I keep progressing in my career!

Katya sits on a rock while posing for a photo taken at Colchuck Lake, an alpine lake in Washington, USA.

Colchuck Lake (Washington, USA) is one of my favorite hikes to date!

Katya smiles at the camera while holding bungeoppang, a fish-shaped pastry filled with sweetened red bean paste.

Enjoying bungeoppang while exploring Myeong-dong in Seoul, South Korea.

Katya is kneeling and holding Danchu, a black and tan Korean Jindo dog, as they pose in front of the Colorado River in Moab, UT. In addition to the river, red rocks scenery is visible in the background.

Posing in front of the Colorado River in Moab, UT with my dog Danchu.