Originally posted by Wogrammer by here. “How would you explain your job to a 5-year old?” Shayna laughs, “I’m a rocket surgeon.” She declares her title with confidence, despite the lightheartedness of the question. As a child, Shayna grew up in the Northern Navajo Reservation near Cortez, Colorado. Every night the sky lit up with millions of stars, filling her with a sense of wonder and a love for exploration. Amidst this unbound, galactic plane, Shayna dreamt of becoming an astrophysicist. She begged her parents for a Pod Racer Lego
It’s fascinating, how the small steps we take, have a significant impact on the future we create for ourselves and others. My journey to the technology industry has been a compilation of small, but bold steps that I never knew would lead me to work at an incredible company like Microsoft. Recently, I celebrated my first anniversary at Microsoft. I cannot believe how fast time has flown! It seemed like yesterday when I packed my two giant suitcases in Texas to travel to Seattle for the first time, to embark
“The beauty about community is that you often start off creating content, curating content then co-ordinating content created by the community” Andy Ayim Five entrepreneurs. One mission; building a business with ‘community’ in the center. If there is one lesson that can be taken away from the stories of these five founders, it is that a community first approach can be the key to success for a ‘start-up’. Black people [and people of color in general] know what it is like to not have their narrative told in the mainstream,
This interview featuring LaShaun Williams was originally posted here via Abstract. What personal passions bring you to Abstract? I really love solving problems with design and technology, and that’s exactly what I get to do at Abstract. I’m also passionate about equal opportunity for underrepresented communities, and Abstract’s commitment to diversity and inclusion, willingness to have uncomfortable conversations and actually walk that talk is a refreshing rarity. What’s one childhood lesson that you still carry with you to this day? When you’re most uncomfortable, when you feel most challenged —
Originally posted here by FullStackAcademy “Until my tenure at Twitter, I strongly resisted being ‘the Black guy,’” writes Mark S. Luckie, an author, digital strategist, and former Twitter employee. “I didn’t want to be the sole representative of a multifaceted group of people or be siloed into focusing on Black issues.” That perspective makes total sense. Wouldn’t you feel uncomfortable if everyone in the office expected you to speak for millions of other individuals for no other reason than that you were seen to share the same skin color and
Going viral. It’s the coveted achievement every company, agency, firm, person posting on social media hopes for. It’s the attention founders need to build a brand, and I’ve been fortunate enough to have had well-shared efforts in the past. From my call-out article about INC. Magazine, to the ‘fundraise’ for the AI company I founded — I’ve had my share of social media wins. And now, as I’ve pivoted my focus from being a founder to a funder, It’s happened again! This time it was completely organic. I tweeted this
I am often asked during interviews to share my experience as a Black business owner in the Startup world. You know, how I got started, how I’ve gotten this far. My go-to response is to explain that I have had many positive experiences, some negative, and I consider myself to be a business owner who happens to be Black — rather than a Black business owner.Yet, I have had to admit to myself that I am somewhat offended by the question. And perhaps more offensive than the question being asked
This article takes a look at some of the fantastic technologist hailing from Eritrea and Ethiopia [both in the diaspora and the motherland]. The list is far from exhaustive, so please feel free to shout out anyone else in the comments! 1. Betelhem Dessie At 10, she was coding. Now, at 19 Betelhem Dessie has been dubbed “the youngest pioneer in Ethiopia’s fast emerging tech scene” by CNN. Working at Ethiopia’s first Artificial Intelligence Lab [iCog], she was involved in the development of the world-famous Sophia the robot. This young
My birthday is in exactly six weeks. I wake up every night thinking about telling this story. So I am telling it now. Six months ago, I was living in New York and flew back home (San Francisco Bay Area, Redwood City) for a board meeting and to be part of an entrepreneur video series profile of me. Before the board meeting, I asked for an aspirin. I had a weird headache but I thought it was the travel. My board meetings are never stressful because I have great board
“Should I have a career in tech?” Up until about a year and a half ago, this thought had never crossed my mind. This all changed when I became the marketing manager of 23 Code Street, a women’s coding school. I read and learned a lot about tech, completed our web development course and became fascinated by the industry. When I heard about YSYS’s and Color in Tech’s Immersion program- I applied straight away and fortunately got awarded one of their scholarships! I spent one week in Los Angeles in
