What made you decide to work in tech? Before I even knew what I was getting into, I picked up on some knowledge during middle school that engineers make a lot of money! {laughs} I was always good at math and science, but before it was a desire it was: What do my skills tell me I should do? As I got into high school, I think I had a soft pulse on the evolution of technology, and where it would be by the time I was a young adult. I
Melissa James is President and CEO of The Tech Connection, the premier marketplace for purpose-driven, diverse technical talent. Her mission is to help people reach their highest potential by accelerating their individual pathway to success. On top of running her business, Melissa is the founder of the Black Tech Boston Meetup, a platform created to celebrate the impact of technology within African-American communities. She recently received the U.S. Presidential Service Award and the 2015 Pursuer award from the African Youth Excellence organization for her relentless commitment to the community. What
What made you decide to work in tech? I’ve just liked computers for as long as I can remember. What’s your earliest programming memory? I didn’t start programming until I was in high school. I took a computer science course. We used JavaSwing to draw things, and it was really awesome! What was an obstacle you faced ? Oh yeah. In college, I had a project based class. My professor made me lead developer. I was normally the only girl developer in my class, and I was the only girl
What made you decide to work in tech? Working in tech was something that I fell into; it wasn’t exactly a conscious decision. As a teenager I ended up teaching myself how to code and fell in love with it. From there, it turned into a career. What was an obstacle you faced and how did you overcome that obstacle? I think the biggest obstacle I faced was ageism in the industry. Being a young person of color, it was tough for people to take me seriously at first. I still
Joah Spearman is the CEO & Co-Founder of Localeur, an app that makes it possible for people to experience being a local wherever they are, regardless if its their home city or a city they never visited. He is also on the Board of Directors for KRLU-TV (PBS) and ASA. What made you decide to work in tech? Technology has moved from a fringe industry to one that truly impacts our entire lives, from using cell phones as alarm clocks in the morning to liking a few photos on Instagram before going
What made you decide to work in tech? I’ve been interested in technology for almost as long as I can remember. I used to go to my dad’s office and play snake on his computer. At this time, I kept wondering how you go from circuits to what I saw on the screen. Fast forward to middle school when I found out what an engineer was and that there was a type that specialized in computers. I knew then what I wanted to do. What was an obstacle you faced
What made you decide to work in tech? I applied to a non-technical summer program at Google because I thought that Google seemed cool. I was very fortunate to have gotten accepted, and ended up seeing a talk by Megan Smith who talked about the power of engineering. I was really inspired and intrigued so I decided to give programming a shot. What was an obstacle you faced and how did you overcome that obstacle? My biggest issue has always been feeling like I’ve started coding too late and that
Iheanyi Ekechukwu is a Software Engineer in IBM Watson, a cognitive system that enables a partnership between people and computers. Check him out on his podcast Two Black Nerds, where he and his friend tackle topics such as diversity in the tech industry, current events, and life after college. What made you decide to work in tech? I didn’t start coding until college. I got into tech, as I was always into video games when I was younger, and wanted to be a games developer. But once I got into
Catt Small is a Product Designer at Sound Cloud where she builds prototypes and designs to increase the user experience and engagement. In her spare time she also volunteers at Code Liberation, an organization that teaches girls how to code through gaming. Check out the game she created: Prism Shell. What made you decide to work in tech? I grew up surrounded by technology. It’s always been a part of my life. Over the years, I naturally transitioned into tech by experimenting with games and web design. By the time I was 18, I knew I wanted to go
What made you decide to work in tech? I was a late bloomer. I originally started out as an aspiring (non-technical) founder. I was working on my own e-commerce startup fresh out of university, and ended up scraping together some coding knowledge out of necessity. The startup dissipated, but the newly found skills remained. I enrolled in Comp Sci masters and the rest is history. What was an obstacle you faced and how did you overcome that obstacle? Mainly the perception I had internalised that you had to have been
