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Tune co-founders Lee and Lucas Brown with new Tune House residents Karishma Mandyam and Aishwarya Mandya. Photos via Tune.

What started as a dream for Lucas and Lee Brown is now a reality at the Tune House.

As classes get underway this week, eight University of Washington women studying computer science are now settled into an 8-bedroom house that Seattle startup Tune is operating for the first time.

We wrote about the Tune House in April, detailing how the Brown brothers — also co-founders of Tune, a 6-year-old mobile marketing analytics company — came up with the idea for an off-campus house that would provide a living space for women pursuing a degree in computer science and/or information technology.

After locking down a rental agreement earlier this year, Tune employees spent a combined 300 hours volunteering to help paint walls, install new carpet, work on landscaping, and decorate the 3-floor house itself with new furniture, curtains, blinds, windows, doors, locks, and more. 

Living Room door

Living Room

Dining Room

The eight students — one senior, two juniors, two sophomores, and three freshmen — were picked from an applicant pool of more than 50 who submitted resumes and personal essays, noted Tune Engineering Growth Manager Kristina Linova. A group of 15 students interviewed for the final eight spots in the house.

Linova said she was “blown away” by the women who applied to live in the Tune House.

L, L & P at Move In
Tune co-founder Lucas Brown, CEO Peter Hamilton, and co-founder Lee Brown.

“We tried to find a balance between women who are entering the field of computer science and individuals who are a few years along in their studies,” she said. “While we’re going to provide mentors for each student, our biggest goal was creating a supportive community in the House and having residents at different stages in their studies will help foster an environment where students push and encourage each other.”

Linova added that an interest in technology was a requirement for the new roommates.

“These eight students not only excel at school but their passion came through in the interview process,” she said. “Technology was not only their career goal but also their hobby.”

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New Tune House resident Larissa Ho and her parents on move-in day.

Tune, which raised a $27 million funding round earlier this year, will cover housing costs, weekly groceries, and provide a MacBook to each student for the entire school year starting this month and running through June 30, 2016. The company calls the Tune House a “scholarship program that, instead of tuition assistance, creates a space, provides resources and establishes a support system for women interested in technology.”

The house, located just a few minutes from the UW campus in Seattle, features three kitchens, four bathrooms, and a fenced yard. In addition to free housing, laptops, and groceries, accepted students will have access to a network of professionals and mentors in the tech industry. Some initial ideas the roommates have already kicked around include job shadowing of Seattle tech industry workers, hackathons, tours of office spaces, fireside chats with inspiration women in tech, attending conferences, and more.

The Tune House also has support from partners like Redapt, a fellow Seattle tech company that donated monitors, TVs, and iPads for roommates to use.

Here’s a brief biography on each student, courtesy of Tune:

  • Meredith Lampe attended high school at Bellevue Christian High School, where she served as student government president. A National Honors Society commended student and on the high honor roll of the National Honors Society, she is currently studying computer science and engineering at the University of Washington. She holds the top score in Computer Programming I class and codes in Java, HTML, CSS, PHP, SQL, JavaScript, and others. A 2015 Grace Hopper Scholarship Recipient, Meredith mentors women in computing with Go Girl, Go, a forum co-organized by ICRA 2015 and Washington FIRST. Go Girl, Go connects girls from 6-18 with undergraduate and graduate students, and established robotics researchers and professionals.
  • Lilian Liang is a prospective Computer Science and Human-Centered Design and Engineering student at the University of Washington. Lilian is a liaison to the Society of Women Engineers, works with coaches and speakers as part of TEDxUofW, and is a opinion and science writer for The Daily, UW’s student-run newspaper. This summer, she served as a TA in a summer immersion program organized by Girls Who Code. In addition to working in Python and Java, she is also teaching herself web programming and design.
  • An incoming freshman at the University of Washington, Larissa Ho is a graduate of TAF Academy in Kent. TAF Academy is a 6th-12th grade public school preparing students for successful careers beyond college in a technology-driven world. As a student, she received the TAF Academy Principal’s Award for Excellence, served at vice-president of the TAF speech team. Coding in Java, HTML, JavaScript, CSS and C++, Larissa’s senior project focused on women in STEM and gender inequality, a topic in which she is passionate and plans to continue working on at the University of Washington.
  • A double major pursuing undergraduate degrees in human-computer interaction and business-information systems, Keting Cen is the external vice president of the Society of Women Engineers, UW Chapter. She is also the assistant director of the Associated Students of the University of Washington, a student-led organization committed to student programming and developing future leaders. She codes in Java, Python, HTML, CSS, Javascript and SQL.
  • Karishma Mandyam graduated from Skyline high school as Salutatorian and with an International Baccalaureate diploma. She founded her local Girls Who Code chapter. She codes in Java, HTML, CSS, Javascript and Python. In high school, Karishma participated in TiE Young Entrepreneurs (TYE) Seattle, a group that mentors students in what it means to be an entrepreneur. With her team, she developed a product that won the TiE competition, an iPhone case that, when squeezed three times, can signal emergency services to your exact location. She also teaches South Indian dance.
  • As a high school student, Aishwarya Mandyam participated in the Google Summer Girls Who Code immersion program, and interned with Expedia. Along with her team, she was featured in GeekWire for her work on an iPhone case while still in high school. As part of the TiE Young Entrepreneurs (TYE) Seattle program, Aishwarya was a member of a four-student team that developed an iPhone case that, when squeezed three times, can signal emergency services to your exact location. She is passionate about computer science and wants to use her coding skills to disrupt medication distribution.
  • Pooja Sethi has been offered internships with Microsoft, Google and Facebook, all while working as an undergraduate research assistant. She is among the top 25 percent of all computer/engineering students at UW which qualifies her to be a member of the national IEEE Eta Kappa Nu Honor Society. Pooji has also received numerous grants, including the Space Grant Scholar from NASA.
  • A rising sophomore at the University of Washington, Anna Pendleton also teaches various programs to the students of Girls Who Code in Seattle. She is currently pursuing her undergraduate degree in Computer Science. Anna is also a researcher in rehabilitative medicine at UW’s Moritz Lab. In high school, Anna was elected senior class spirit officer and participated in a French exchange program in Nantes.
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