Alumni Profiles

Andrea Gonzales

Campus: UNC
Hometown: Bronx, NY
High School: Hunter College High School

When I started high school, I thought I wanted to be an engineer. I started learning to code in my free time, joined the robotics team, signed up for summer computer camps. But my interests weren’t restricted to that at all–I played volleyball, studied classical music theory and piano, joined the layout staff for my school’s yearbook and newspaper. I knew that I wanted to work in technology, but I wasn’t sure that engineering was the right job for me.
At the end of the summer of 2014, my colleague Sophie Houser and I released a video game called “Tampon Run.” Blood by violence is easily accepted by society through video games and other forms of media, but when it comes to menstrual blood–something totally natural and normal–people turn away in disgust. Tampon Run is a simple game that is meant to open up a discussion about this stigma surrounding menstruation. As soon as we launched the game, it went viral overnight; since then, we’ve won a Tribeca Disruptive Innovation Award, a Webby Award, done numerous talks and TEDx talks, and are slated to release a book published by Harper Collins in March 2017. But aside from the shiny ribbons and awards we’ve racked up I’ve come to the decision that I don’t just want to program or engineer. Tampon Run isn’t just computer science, but also women’s issues and social activism–I thrive at the junction of multiple areas of study, and I can’t wait to see how my interdisciplinary interests can affect the world I live in.

What drew you to the Robertson Program? Whenever I speak to someone about the Robertson Program, they’re blown away by how it just seems too good to be true. And every time I talk about it, I’m blown away by what the Robertson Program offers its scholars. There is no specific track a Robertson Scholar will follow–the Program trusts that we will seek experiences that will help us grow as leaders and learners and gives us access to a wealth of invaluable resources. The Robertson Scholars are a group of such intelligent, creative, and ambitious minds–not necessarily on paper, but in character. In no way am I a traditional student, and I’m very excited to be surrounded by people like me!

Annie Gonzales