From building an app with her high school coding club to conducting research in Antarctica, Claire Jensen’s journey demonstrates how STEM skills can open doors to unexpected opportunities and meaningful impact.
Claire participated in the Technovation App Challenge as a member of her high school’s Sisters-n-Technology club. Today, she is a second-year PhD student at the University of Washington, where she studies glacier seasonality in Greenland using remote sensing and machine learning. Along the way, she has combined her interests in computer science and geology, conducted research on Antarctic ice sheets, interned as a software engineer, and presented her work at conferences around the world.
From Computer Science to Climate Science
After graduating high school in 2020, Claire Jensen enrolled at Amherst College with plans to major in computer science. Programs like Technovation had already helped her see herself pursuing technology professionally, but she also found herself searching for ways to connect technology to real-world challenges.
That connection came through an introductory geology course during her first year of college. Learning about Earth systems and being able to physically interact with minerals and geological features sparked a new passion. She soon decided to double major in computer science and geology.
A turning point came during her sophomore year when she attended a lecture by glacier researcher Professor Nick Holschuh. She was fascinated by the way scientists could use satellite imagery and remote sensing technologies to study glaciers from thousands of miles away. Realizing she could combine her computer science skills with climate research, she joined projects involving machine learning, ice-penetrating radar data, and satellite imagery.
Throughout college, she embraced every opportunity she could find. She helped lead Amherst’s Women in Computer Science club, studied abroad in New Zealand through a field geology program, interned as a software engineer at Google, presented research at conferences, and completed a senior honors thesis.
A Project She’s Proud Of
One of the projects Claire is most proud of is her undergraduate honors thesis, which examined the relationship between surface features and ice layering at Dome A in East Antarctica.
Using satellite imagery, ice-penetrating radar data, and Python programming, she analyzed how persistent wind scour affects the climate record preserved in Antarctic ice. This research is important because ice cores can contain atmospheric gases that are hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of years old, helping scientists better understand Earth’s climate history and the relationship between greenhouse gases and climate change.
Her work provided insight into whether Dome A could contain some of the oldest ice on Earth and contribute to future climate research. The project combined field-collected data, satellite imagery, and coding to produce detailed analyses, visualizations, and scientific conclusions.
How Technovation Shaped Her Skills
Today Claire regularly uses geospatial Python tools and machine learning in her research. While she was familiar with programming from high school and college, she was surprised by how much she would enjoy using Python for data visualization.
She now uses coding to create maps, figures, and plots that help communicate complex scientific findings. “Scientific research is about crafting a story,” she explains. “I love using Python tools to tell the story visually and quantitatively.”
Her Technovation experience helped build many of the leadership and project management skills she still uses today. During the App Challenge, she stepped into a leadership role by communicating with mentors, helping her team stay on track, and breaking large goals into manageable pieces.
She also learned the importance of assigning roles based on team members’ strengths and interests. By ensuring everyone had ownership of part of the project, her team was able to collaborate effectively and make problem solving feel both achievable and enjoyable.
Lessons Learned Along the Way
Looking back, Claire wishes she had known earlier that failure is a natural part of growth.
For a long time, she compared herself to people who seemed more experienced or naturally talented. Over time she realized that learning is rarely a straight path and that struggling through challenges often leads to the greatest growth.
She also hopes to challenge the stereotypes that people are simply “born good” at STEM subjects. In her experience, success in STEM comes from curiosity, persistence, and a willingness to keep learning.
Now that she is in graduate school, she has seen firsthand that few people follow a perfectly linear path. People switch fields, take breaks, learn new skills, and discover new passions throughout their careers. She believes that dedication and self-confidence matter far more than natural talent.
Favorite Technovation Memory
One of Claire’s favorite Technovation memories was creating a commercial for her team’s app.
After spending months building their project, the team was excited to share it with others. Filming the commercial gave them a chance to showcase their hard work, celebrate what they had accomplished, and create plenty of funny bloopers along the way.
“It was fun to share our app with an audience and show off the app we had built,” she recalls.
Advice for Future Participants
For students who are unsure about joining Technovation, Claire encourages them to take a chance.
“Take the risk! You’ll never know if you like something until you try it. Chances are, you’ll like Technovation and you’ll get something great out of it.”
Her journey from app development to climate research demonstrates how one opportunity can lead to many others. By exploring her interests, embracing challenges, and believing in her ability to learn, she found a path that combines technology, science, and meaningful impact.
Inspired by Claire’s journey?
Technovation Girls Minnesota is open to all girls ages 8–18 who want to turn their ideas into impact. Whether you’re new to coding or already exploring technology, Technovation provides the tools, mentorship, and community to help you build solutions to real-world problems.