Edna Ovulley

I attribute my success to resilience. Like I said before, it hasn't been smooth, and there have been different kinds of challenges along the way - sometimes financial, sometimes I just didn't feel motivated to keep going, especially from where I started. But one of the things I would attribute this to is resilience. I just couldn't fail myself, first of all, and I couldn't fail the people that are dependent on me. So I had to keep pushing. Every day I wake up with a sense of purpose and what I want to do. I haven't reached there yet, and so when I wake up and I remind myself of where I want to get to, there is no way I can stop now. So resilience and just being self-motivated - that's what has kept me going.

The greatest advice, which my supervisor at the time gave me, was that you are in the right space and you cannot give up. You need to keep going. I would say sometimes one feels like giving up because when you look at the challenges, sometimes you're like, I've had enough of this. But I had to push. And especially when I became a mother, I knew that there was no giving up. I had to keep going. Even if I didn't want to do it for myself, I had to do it for my kids. And it kept me going. I think that listening to my supervisor back then and holding on to that piece of advice has really done me good and has led to where I am today. I'm grateful for that. It also highlights the importance of mentorship - that if you have the right people in your space edging you on, it really helps.

I would encourage women who are entering into the tech space to give it their all. It is worth it, especially in the dispensation that we find ourselves with AI and all of these technologies coming up every day. It couldn't be better. So I will encourage every woman who is considering a career in tech to give it their all. It's not going to be a straight journey. They may face one challenge or the other, because the tech space is dominated by men, and sometimes that can feel intimidating. But if you keep on pushing, it is very rewarding. You get to learn a lot of things, you get to network with other incredible women in the space, and it is very rewarding and fulfilling. So I would encourage every woman to venture into tech.

The job market, especially for tech, is kind of tight right now. Right from last year when I started looking out for internship opportunities just to broaden my knowledge and what I'm doing, sadly I haven't found one yet. But I've been able to do other things with other groups on campus and off campus. Professionally speaking, looking for internship opportunities in tech has been quite challenging, and I have not relented in trying. When I find opportunities, conferences, and other forums that I can network with other people in the industry and just keep things going, I do that. I was in a conference last year and networked with people. This year as well I've been in a few programs, and I have a program coming up again in the summer where I mentor high school students who are thinking of careers in healthcare. So even though I haven't found an internship in the space, I'm still able to work on other programs achieving similar goals. Finding job opportunities in the space can be quite challenging, but there's no giving up. We still keep pushing.

I would talk about integrity. As I journey through my career, one of the key things that has separated me has been my integrity. When I was assigned stuff that I had to do, even when nobody was watching me, I made sure to do things the right way, and it always pays. So it's one of the things that I hold onto strongly. I always had to do the right thing, even when I think no one is watching me. That is something that I also try to teach to my mentees as well. And another thing that I value so much is communication. Because a lot of the things I do have to do with talking and working with people, which meant that communication had to be an important skill. So communication is one of the things that I value so strongly, and I do not play with that at all.