Her Story
About Khiyah
I've been in IT for over 7 years, and my journey started in an unexpected way. I was studying psychology at the University of Maryland, following in my mom's footsteps, when in my last year the university built a beautiful new engineering building. I spent time there and walked past a free Microsoft class, decided to take it, and completely fell in love with coding and tech. It was a mix of everything I loved - not entirely hands-on, not entirely visual, just the perfect blend. This was right before COVID, and it allowed me to hone in on my first certifications and figure out my direction in the industry. Today, I handle a lot of B2B business aspects, facilitating deals with government entities and subsidiaries, managing how operations work together. My day-to-day involves managing spreadsheets to fund grants and projects around the city, and discussing opportunities for funding. My psychology background has been invaluable - it helps me talk to clients and facilitate deals even to this day. Beyond my consulting work, I've been mentoring for 2 years and volunteering for about 4 years, helping people figure out realistic paths into tech. I call myself the pivot queen because I love being at the crossroads of adapting to a better life, and I love helping others do the same.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Khiyah
01What do you attribute your success to?
I find my flexibility and my ability to pivot most rewarding. Where I'm at in life right now, I could stay here, or I could continue learning more certifications and building a bigger community. I love being at the crossroads of adapting to a better life, and I love being at the crossroads of helping people do the same. It's like an intersection of happiness for me because not only am I making myself happy and being the example, I like being an example for other people and showing them that this is a real-life case study of things that actually work in an economy like this, in a world like this, in a shifting industry like this. I call myself the pivot queen.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would say do a lot of market research on what specific industry you would like to work in. Every industry has very niche entry points - some require schooling, some require additional schooling, some require certifications, some require real work experience, some require projects that you can build, and some require a combination of all. So I would start with the mindset of what I have, or what I could build realistically, and what I can accomplish within a phase of the year. Then I would go into where can I see myself thriving. These companies are all different, and they all have different moral codes about themselves. Some environments are better than others. So I tell people to think about where do you see yourself happy in the next 5 years. Could you see yourself with this company and growing with them, and contributing to them, and also contributing to yourself, or will it drain you? These are just some realistic things to think about.
03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Seeing how AI is changing the industry in real time is scary but exciting. We're on the precedence of a new total life. A book cannot tell you this right now - you can read a book about it, but to experience it is another thing. That's why I want to do public speaking and talk about this in schools, to inspire kids to get in tech but also be niche in tech so you can be more valuable, and to show people that you are still worthy of a great career and a great life.
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