Sarah hopes to build inclusive, human-centered technologies that celebrate identity and empower underrepresented people in tech.

Sarah Nyaanga is a senior at the University of Michigan pursuing a bachelor’s degree in information with a focus on user experience design and a minor in computer science. Sarah came to the tech field through Sister Rise Up, an organization addressing the gap in the pass rates of Black and Hispanic female students on the Advanced Placement computer science exam. The program influenced Sarah’s career choice: “I never thought this career path was for me, but the Sister Rise Up program pushed me to keep going,” Sarah writes. Today, Sarah tutors students through the program at U-M, exemplifying her commitment to uplifting young women like herself.

Sarah began her undergraduate career on an athletic scholarship at Purdue University Northwest. As a junior, she transferred to U-M to immerse herself in an environment that reflected her ambition. U-M allowed Sarah to emerge as a future leader in design and innovation. She has interned as an experience design intern at Adobe and as a software engineer at Amazon. This past year, Sarah helped create a beauty tech startup that successfully grew to over 12,000 users. Her work has earned recognition in pitch competitions hosted by the National Society of Black Engineers, Stanford University, and U-M’s optiMize Social Innovation Challenge, where she secured over $9,000 in early funding. This opportunity ignited her passion for entrepreneurship, leading her to start her own black hair care company this year.

Sarah’s parents immigrated to the United States from Kenya. “My parents’ journey to the United States has been my greatest motivation,” Sarah writes. Like many immigrants, Sarah’s parents emphasized the value of education as the path to success, and Sarah is committed to honoring their sacrifices. Sarah hopes to build inclusive, human-centered technologies that celebrate identity and empower underrepresented people in tech — one interface at a time.

CEW+ commends Sarah’s passion for socially responsible design and names her an Irma M. Wyman Scholar.