Her Story
About Maria
My journey started in Barranquilla, Colombia, where I studied three majors simultaneously: software engineering, mathematics, and computer science at Universidad del Norte. I wanted to do amazing things and had dreams of working in the space industry in the future. During my undergraduate studies, I won a scholarship to complete my computer science degree in the United States at the University of South Florida. While there, I led a project to build a big-scale smart house with 20 other engineers, serving as the leader of the application development team and the general project. When I came to the United States, it was more than a professional challenge - it was deeply personal. I was very far from my family, my culture, and my language, as Spanish is my first language. I only had a year to adapt and make it into the industry. Despite graduating summa cum laude in all three majors, I faced rejection after rejection from big companies like Apple, Bloomberg, Google, and Microsoft. As an international student, I struggled to find work and took a more normal job where I built the entire mobile application for the company. In 2023, I won the award as best engineer graduate in Colombia. That same year, I was offered a fully paid master's degree with a teaching assistant position at the University of South Florida, which felt like a second chance. I saw this as an opportunity to try again for my dreams. During my master's program, I interviewed with Apple again - enduring 16 interviews total before finally getting the internship position. I also received an offer from Microsoft but chose Apple. After completing my internship, I received a return offer and started my role at Apple in June of this year. The journey to get there was more difficult than it sounds. There were days I didn't have food, and I constantly battled imposter syndrome, especially when surrounded by people from MIT and Harvard. But someone at the company told me something special that I remember all the time: the idea of your story being unique is what makes you different and what you bring to the table. This inspired me to start a project on social media called The Fairy of Tech, where I help Latina women overcome imposter syndrome and follow their dreams in technology.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Maria
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to having a clear goal and a specific dream. When you have a purpose, you push yourself out of your comfort zone and keep trying even when things get hard. Since I was a child, I've had a dream, and because of that, even with all the challenges I faced over the years, I kept going. There were days that were incredibly difficult - days when I didn't even have food - but I continued because I was focused on my goal. That sense of purpose is what drove me to persevere through 16 rejections from Apple, through being far from my family and culture, and through all the obstacles I encountered as an international student. Having that dream gave me the strength to keep trying when everything seemed impossible.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I've ever received is to use your story as your magic wand. I know it sounds kind of weird, but what I've seen in every room I've been in and with the people I've worked with is that it's important to know a person in the industry through their story, because that can tell you more about how they work. People who come with stories of perseverance, or who didn't have an easy path, seem to be the people who normally work harder and give the best results. That's why I say use your story as your magic wand - it can help you show the world who you are and help the world understand if you can do a good job for them. Your unique story and what makes you different is what you bring to the table.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
My advice to young women entering the tech industry is to be your own fairy godmother. This is a phrase my mom told me when I was little. She said there are no fairy godmothers - the only way you can do something in the world is if you try to be yours. That means a lot because it means you have to persevere a lot, you have to work a lot, and people will tell you no many times. But still, you can keep trying. I got 16 nos in a row from Apple, and I kept trying to continue even with that. You have to be the one who makes your dreams come true. Don't wait for someone else to do it for you - take control of your own journey and keep pushing forward no matter how many times you hear no.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The main challenge I face right now as I'm starting at Apple is imposter syndrome. The people there are really, really smart - they have three master's degrees from Harvard, two from MIT, and so on. My story is kind of different. I'm not a citizen of this country, I just have my mind set on what I want to achieve and that I want to do really good work. So I'm kind of afraid of that, but I want to do my best. It's challenging to be surrounded by people with such impressive traditional backgrounds when my path has been so different and unconventional. But I'm learning that what makes me different is actually what I bring to the table.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
In my personal life, my family is the most important thing to me, especially my mom. She is the main important person in my life and the one who helped me and inspired me every day to work harder towards my dreams. Even though I am far from them now, I'm a very big family person, and I really want to help them in everything. The second most important value to me is discipline. It's not about being confident that you're good enough - it's about keep trying. If you want to achieve something and you start out not being good enough, you have to keep trying. That discipline and perseverance is what has carried me through all the challenges I've faced.
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