Coligado is a senior at Stanford University majoring in computer science. She's interned at big Silicon Valley tech firms, including Facebook(FB) and Apple(AAPL).
One thing that has stood out to her is that the gender gap in tech is very real. But instead of sitting back and accepting it, she's doing something about it. Coligado runs a blog called Women of Silicon Valley. She's interviewed everyone from Facebook's director of product design, Julie Zhuo, to Google software engineer Lindi Emoungu.
What I would tell my 18-year-old self: "Journal every day. We think our minds are capable of handling all the thoughts constantly crowding our minds, but starting off every day with honestly writing down your hopes, fears, and dreams really puts things in perspective. There have been many times when journaling something seemingly trivial suddenly filled it with significance. I started Women of Silicon Valley because I'd jotted the idea on a sticky note last December, and the rest is history!"
