Company-X software developer Sarah Bahr was Reseller News Women in ICT Graduate Award finalist.
Bahr was one of a trio of outstanding Company-X team members who were finalists in the awards on July 8.
Company-X software quality assurance tester Jes Elliott won the Rising Star Award, and senior software architect Rachel Primrose was a finlaist in the Shining Star Award.
Reseller News Women in ICT Awards finalist: Company-X software developer Sara Bahr
Sara Bahr was a finalist in the Graduate category of the Reseller News Women in ICT Awards.
This award recognises a standout graduate candidate who has leveraged apprenticeship programs to start a career within the ICT industry. Open to all roles and responsibilities, this individual has made an immediate and positive impact on the business through providing a fresh perspective and high levels of professionalism.
Bahr is participating in the Company-X Developer Graduate Program, offering the University of Waikato computer science graduate a structured software development internship.
For Sara, 2021 was the third consecutive year that she was invited to join the Golden Key Honour Society, the world’s largest collegiate honour society for students at the top 15 per cent of their class.
In 2019 and 2020 she received a Dean’s Award at the University of Waikato Faculty of Computing and Mathematical Science recognising excellence in the faculty’s top 10 students.
Bahr interned at global healthcare platform builder Orion Health in the summer of 2019 and 2020 where she was chosen to be the face of the company in an online video celebrating its ranking number 29 in the GradNewZealand 2020 list of top 100 graduate employers.
In 2020 Bahr was awarded the $3000 Dr Murray Pearson and Lightwire Undergraduate Scholarship in Computer Science for second year students who have achieved at least an A- Grade Point Average (GPA) in their first year of study, and a $2,000 Torutek Software Engineering Scholarship, but she declined a job offer.
Bahr also accepted a Research and Enterprise Study Award in 2020 in the Ahuora Project as a software developer where she interacted with industry professionals, including chemical engineers, as she researched digital twin technology to reduce New Zealand carbon emissions. The project expanded Bahr’s knowledge of adaptive technology and control theory and she was offered a PhD to continue working on the project next year which has exciting potential to apply to the New Zealand industry. The project was detailed by the University of Waikato and picked up by Stuff. Sara has exceeded expectations since joining the Company-X Developer Graduate Program.
Bahr has proved to be software savvy beyond her years of experience, according to senior software developer and team leader Arno van Niekerk.
“Sara is a fast learner, quick at becoming adept in new technologies, and thorough in her approach, showing a particular aptitude in learning and embracing the very latest in modern cloud infrastructure,” he said.
"As a grad, I'm privileged to be given such an amazing opportunity at Company-X which allows me to be an award finalist," Bahr said.
