Last weekend I attended First Ascent: Women in Tech and I admit that I have never been quite as energized or inspired by a networking event.
But to rewind a little bit: what is First Ascent? In their own words, this is ‘an exclusive, four-day, all-expenses-paid retreat for twenty impressive women Computer Science & Engineering students who are studying in Europe.’
Obviously, I was intrigued from the moment I set eyes on the application page — I mean, who wouldn’t be? Whether I believed I would actually get in is a different story, but there was no harm in trying.
I swiftly brought my resume up to date and started crafting a cover letter that I hoped would showcase my skills and experiences in a way that aligned well with the event’s focus. I remember sitting on a barstool not unlike the one I’m sitting on writing this post, while asking my brother to proofread what I’d written just before nervously hitting ‘send’.
What followed the application screening was an invitation to complete a set of online challenges, lasting approximately 4 hours. I was expecting the usual LeetCode-style problems that you see at every coding interview, but the challenges I encountered here turned out to be surprisingly fun. Of course I am not at liberty to describe them in much depth, but let’s just say that I was scratching my head right up until the final moments of each task, while being more exhilarated than stressed in the moment. It was quite a strange concoction of feelings given the setting, but it reminded me of the reasons I fell in love with computer science in the first place. I felt challenged to think logically and strategically, without being overwhelmed way beyond my capabilities.
Then came the waiting. A few days passed in anxiety but finally I received news that I’d been invited to the final stage: an interview. The interview went well, though I was nervous right through it and even for days after. Since you’re reading this post though, you already know the outcome: I soon received my invite to Milan for the First Ascent: Women in Tech retreat from October 3–6, 2024.
Fast forward to early October, and there I was, on a flight to Italy! (The whole trip is documented on my story highlights here, if you’re curious!)
I had been to Italy once before for a day or two but as a child of only ten or eleven. Having next to no memories of that previous trip, I considered this my first visit and I was stoked.
That evening, the event kicked off with vibrant welcome drinks and a delicious dinner, where I met the other Ascenders (that’s what we participants were called), and the Spooners (Bending Spoons employees). I should mention — Bending Spoons is the company behind First Ascent, and they host multiple editions of the retreat throughout the year. The one I attended was Women in Tech, and I was lucky to be part of a group with 18 other amazing girls. I’m glad to tell you that by the end of the retreat, I could call most of them friends.
For those who know me, you know that while I do try to step outside my comfort zone, my real comfort zone would be at home, alone, with a book. What I mean to say is that I’m not the most naturally extroverted person, but I try my best to be one in situations like the one I was in. Turns out, a lot of people were in the same boat as me, which actually made it easier to bond, fueled by the vigor and enthusiasm of the Spooners that we met.
We were put up in a hotel very close to the Bending Spoons headquarters, in rooms of two. As the first evening came to a close, we prepared for the busy day ahead of us.
Day 2 began with a morning of tech talks at the Bending Spoons office, where we heard from the Spooners about their roles and projects, as well as about the company. We even had the chance to meet Luca Ferrari, the CEO, for an inspiring opening talk.
As the talks progressed, I found myself intrigued by fields outside of software engineering, like data and security, for the first time. I hadn’t previously considered working in these areas, but suddenly felt drawn to explore them further.
That afternoon, we were split into teams and sent on a ‘treasure hunt’ around Milan. Before my visit, I’d heard from friends that Milan wasn’t as pretty as other Italian cities like Florence and Rome. I haven’t seen those other cities, but they must be quite incredible if they overshadow a stunning place like Milan.
After 4 long hours of walking around in pursuit of clues and racking our brains to unriddle the ones we procured, we arrived at Treato 7 Lab — a cooking school a short walk away from HQ. You’re probably guessing right — we then proceeded to fix our own dinner.
We split into the same teams as before, and were assigned one course to prepare per team. Mine had the good fortune of being in charge of dessert, and we quite relaxedly went on to beat eggs and cheese and coffee and cream together into a mocha mascarpone mousse.
If you find it odd that it was considered normal to have coffee-containing mousse after dinner, you’ll be even more surprised to learn that many Italians often top dessert off with an espresso, late in the night. While this habit itself was peculiar enough to me, I learned something else about its T&Cs the following night. I’ll tell you soon enough, so keep reading.
When we finally sat down to eat, each team brought out and presented the dish they had carefully prepared. Since all team events were in theory a competition, we had a vote at the end of the meal about which dish was best, and it was a pleasant surprise for my team to have won — marginally, but all the same! (I suppose it was a little biased though, because who doesn’t like dessert?!)
The next day brought a mix of coding challenges and something called an ‘aerial challenge’. This was quite a confusing headline to see on our itinerary, but it turned out that it was a team activity that entailed planning a flight itinerary around the world, under a very strict set of rules. Saying any more would risk spoiling the experience for any future Ascenders reading this, but it’ll suffice to say that it was an hour full of competitive spirit, teamwork and most of all, fun.
We lunched at a nearby pizzeria, and my choice of a simple margherita pizza was every bit as delicious as I’d hoped. It was also a smart choice to load up on carbs since we needed the energy for the walking tour waiting ahead of us — after all, we were in Milan, and what’s a trip to Italy without a little sightseeing? (Though, to be fair, the event itself was so well-organized, it could’ve easily stood on its own.)
We kicked off with a trip up the elevator to the roof of the Duomo — Milan’s iconic cathedral. From there, we wandered around the city center for a while, learning about the history and significance of various landmarks. If you’re interested in a more visual account of the day, I’ve got highlights saved on my travel account on Instagram, including this particularly aesthetic shot of a cup of gelato:
Later that evening, we found ourselves back at the Duomo, this time for dinner at a rooftop restaurant nearby. The view from the balcony offered a partial glimpse of the cathedral, and as dusk settled in and the Duomo’s lights flickered on, the scene became magical. As stunning as that was, the real show started after dinner, when the night fully set in and the cathedral glowed bright as the moon.
Dinner itself was a treat — not just because of the food, but because of the impeccable company. I chose to sit with people I hadn’t had much chance to connect with earlier, but the past couple of days of shared experiences implicitly made us friends and the conversations flowed effortlessly. You may not understand why this is such a great deal, but for an introvert like me, it was delightful.
Of course, being at a tech-centric event like this, we could openly unleash our inner nerds, and I mean this in the best way possible. At one point, we found ourselves at 1 a.m., chatting with the Spooners over drinks about the pains of refactoring code in monolithic software architecture and debating whether data science is an actual job. It may sound boring to you but I honestly enjoyed every minute of it.
Earlier after dinner, along with a couple of friends, I had given in to the ‘coffee after dinner’ tradition and ordered a cappuccino. This brings us to the other thing I mentioned I’d learned about having coffee at night, because I was teased endlessly about my choice by the Italians in the group. Apparently, ‘milk’s too heavy’ to be had at night; this, of course, was said right after we’d all devoured massive servings of cream-laden tiramisu.
In that moment I realized that what was meant to be a networking event actually became something much more meaningful. I’d built connections, sure, but I’d also built friendships and I’m sure I’ll cross paths with some of my fellow Ascenders again in the future.
Looking back, I’ve shared more details than I thought I would when I started this post, but I hope I’ve convincingly captured just how exciting, invigorating, and rewarding this experience was. Needless to say, I’d wholeheartedly recommend my fellow techies to apply for future editions of First Ascent, or even a position at Bending Spoons, like I’ve already done.
In short, First Ascent was everything I’d hoped for and more, and it’s an experience I’ll carry with me for years to come.