As Pacific Technology Foundation’s 2007 Technology College Educator of the Year and the bearer of a resume that spans countless awards, published papers, and professional recognitions, Dolly Samson is not short on accolades for her contributions to Hawaii’s technology industry.

As a Professor and Program Chair of computer science and computer information systems at Hawaii Pacific University (HPU), Samson is charged with the responsibility of educating the future high-tech leaders of Hawaii as well as representing the computer science and computer information systems programs within the university and in the community.

Born and raised in Southern California, Samson spent her teen years working as a maid at her parent’s family-owned motel and hanging at the beach.  It wasn’t until after her sophomore year in college, when she was forced to drop out after losing a scholarship that Samson really got into the IT world.

Her first taste of the IT industry came when she took a job at a software company that was developing the guidance system for the Minuteman missile. She was so intrigued by programming (this was in the FORTRAN days, jokes Samson), that she taught herself to program and assisted with software development.

Eventually, Samson returned to school at the University of Washington, earning a Bachelors of Science in Mathematics and a Masters in Business Administration in Quantitative Methods. After working for several years at her alma mater’s Management Science Department, Samson returned to school in a student capacity, earning her Ph.D. in Information Technology from George Mason University.

She joined the HPU faculty in 2002 as a full time professor after an accomplished career at Weber State University and in 2003, was named Program Chair, a position which she holds in highest regards to this day.

Pacific News Bytes invited Samson to share her experience with being a woman in the tech industry………

What are your primary job responsibilities? 

As a professor of computer science, my job responsibilities are in teaching, scholarship and university service.  Teaching comes first, and so I spend a lot of time staying current in the areas I teach – programming languages, Internet application development, and operating systems.  As program chair, my primary responsibility is representing the Computer Science and Computer Information Systems programs both within the university and in the community.

In your primary responsibilities at work, how do you use technology to improve or advance your organization?

I enjoy trying new technologies, integrating them into my teaching and sharing what I’ve learned with other faculty.  For example, several years ago podcasting came on the scene (it was even the Oxford University Press “word of the year” for 2005!), and so I tried creating podcasts of lectures and interviews with computer science alumni.  I shared my knowledge and experience with other faculty through a teaching & learning forum, so that others could try it.

What have been some of the greatest challenges you have faced in your profession? And from these challenges what knowledge or wisdom did you learn and take with you?

I first started teaching computing at the University of Washington in 1979.  Shortly thereafter, the PC became popular, and I quickly learned how to use them.  I remember when I could identify EVERY file on my hard drive!  Now, with 100,000+ files on my hard drive, I’m lucky if I recognize just a few of them.  The biggest challenge to me was to accept that I could not know everything there was on and about my PC, and that I needed to specialize.  Even with Internet computing, there is so much I don’t know that I just have to specialize in a few areas of development.

Specifically, what challenges do you think women face in the IT field? And how can they overcome these challenges?

Personally, I don’t see any challenges to women in the IT field.  There’s no heavy lifting involved, and it’s a very creative profession.  I think that the challenges begin in junior high school, when girls start noticing boys and they prefer to be seen as beautiful not brainy.  That’s when girls typically drop out of math and science.  Also, most computer games involve violence, fighting, domination, and (simulated) physical force – something that isn’t appealing to most girls and young women.  We need to emphasize the other things computers can do – and I think that the social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook are very successful at this.

If you had to give advice to a young woman who hoped to have a successful career in the IT world, what would that advice be? Why?

I view the IT profession as a “helping” profession – we help people solve business problems with computers. It isn’t a solitary job where you sit in front of a computer all day, typing at the keyboard.  It’s working with people to understand what they need and then coming up with a solution that makes them happy.  Successful IT professionals have excellent interpersonal and communication skills as well as good problem-solving and programming skills.  Young women need to develop both human and computer skills.

What is unique about your work environment?

Educators work on a different schedule than most of the business world.  When a semester is underway, we focus totally on classes and students.  When we have holiday breaks, we can take extended vacations or work on other activities.  We have a lot of autonomy in managing our time, with one exception – when a class is scheduled to meet we MUST be there. Otherwise, we can prepare classes and evaluate student work in the evenings, on weekends, or during the week.

In your profession and in life, what do you consider to be your greatest accomplishment thus far?

There are so many things that give me satisfaction, this is hard to answer.  My most life-changing experience was a 10-month bicycle trip from London, England to Luxor, Egypt.  While difficult, it was exhilarating to travel independently (with one friend, a man), meet so many different people and different cultures.  In computing, I’d have to say that earning a Ph.D. was equally exhilarating and challenging.  Also, seeing mediocre students get turned on by something they learned in one of my classes is a great thrill.

What are your goals/ visions for the future of Hawaii Pacific University, as it relates to technology?

HPU has many people who use IT creatively, both faculty and IT staff.  I think that we can continue to develop our IT infrastructure and IT culture to meet the communication needs of the Millenials, our students who grew up with the Internet and never knew life without it.  With our wireless campus, learning management systems, new SMS-based messaging systems, Facebook sites, and other devices, I think that HPU can succeed in reaching and engaging our student body in achieving success in their education.

What do you enjoy most about your job? Why?

Engaging students in computing brings me the greatest satisfaction. When they develop code and can see it as elegant and creative, and they are proud of their achievements, that is my reward.

What do you enjoy least about your job? Why?

Grading homework is the least enjoyable aspect of my job.  When student work doesn’t meet my expectations, I wonder why – did they not try? Did I not teach them well enough?  Did they not manage their time wisely?  Were they not challenged?  It’s usually pretty hard for me to give failing grades.

If you weren’t in the IT field, what other career or profession would you pursue? Why? 

I’d be either an event planner or a quilt artist.  I’ve volunteered to work on the annual TELECOM conference sponsored by the Hawaii Telecommunications Association, and it’s exciting to take an event from a concept to the day of the activity where people gather to learn and network.  I also enjoy creating “art quilts,” wall hangings composed of textiles and beads and other materials.  I’m afraid it wouldn’t support me financially, though!

Outside of work what do you do in you free time?

When I’m not working, that is during semester breaks, my husband and I travel.  We’ve just built a house in Thailand where we’ll reside for a while, and use that as a base to travel around Asia.  We also play tennis, bike and swim.