Becka returned to school in 2005 to complete a Bachelor degree, originally planned to be in Political Science. After taking a CS class she fell in love with computer science and changed her major. In 2008 Becka earned her BS in Computer Science, emphasis in Software Engineering, graduating summa cum laude. During the last year of her undergrad Becka was offered a job teaching computer science at WOU. She earned a MS in Management and Information Systems in 2009 and her PhD in Computer Science Education in December of 2012. Her dissertation is titled How does a Collaborative Community Affect Diverse Students' Engagement with an Open Source Software Project: A Pedagogical Paradigm.