Meet Kenia & Ángela Ruiz Robles, Change for Generations

This Women’s History Month, Generation USA is spotlighting women in tech who created #ChangeForGenerations.

Ángela Ruiz Robles (1895-1975) was a writer, teacher, inventor and pioneer of the mechanical precursor to the e-book. Inspired by technological advancements in things like television and cars, Robles aimed to bring innovation to education as well. Her ingenious “mechanical encyclopedia,” with information on scrolling coils that could be switched out for new ones, made it possible for students to study at home without carrying around heavy books.

Today, Generation Learner Kenia Rivas-Duarte follows in the steps of innovators like Robles in the Junior Cloud Practitioner program. “A career or education in tech always seemed foreign and freighting to me,” Rivas-Duarte said. “Someone like myself – Latina and growing up undocumented – never saw herself even taking tech-related courses. I definitely didn’t do that in college.”

Kenia is the eldest of 3-siblings, the first to go to college and now, she is the first in her family to break into the tech industry. She is a current student and looks forward to graduating this spring.