Christiane Umutoni graduated from Beloit College with a degree in Computer Science and a minor in Cognitive Science. Christiane has always been passionate about technology and wants to use her degree in computer science to contribute to the innovation and expansion of technology in Rwanda. After graduation, Christiane worked as Associate Software Engineer at Anaplan. Currently, she is a Software Engineer at Elastic, a tech company in San Francisco that provides solutions in Enterprise Search, Observability, and Security as well as building protection against cyber threats.

While attending Beloit, Christiane was a member of the alumni connection team at the Beloit International Students Career Services. This on-campus organization helps international students navigate their lives in the U.S. to obtain legal documents, connect with international alumni, and find internships and jobs. Christiane was also a member of the Afro-Caribbean Society committee, where she was in charge of Community outreach and social media. She worked as a Museum attendant at the two museums at Beloit and also as a building manager at Beloit college’s students center, Powerhouse. Christiane enjoys programming in languages such as C, C++, Java, Python, and some coding in CSS, HTML. 

Before joining SHE-CAN and coming to the U.S, Christiane and her family lived in other neighboring countries, such as the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi. After moving to Rwanda, she started her education and later attended Gashora Girls Academy of Science and Technology (GGAST), an outstanding girls’ school where she was awarded a scholarship for her academic excellence. Christiane spent her three years outside of the classroom as a leader of GGAST’s Community Service Club, where she tutored at a nearby primary school, cleaned homes of the elderly twice a month, and donated school materials to poor children in the neighborhood.

Watch her leadership speech here.