Her Story
About Teana
I began my career in technology in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, where I worked for almost 10 years before coming to the United States as an international student. When I first graduated from university in 2005, smartphone technology didn't exist yet, so I taught myself mobile app development through self-learning as the technology emerged. This self-directed learning led to one of my biggest professional achievements - successfully delivering a complete mobile application for a large company in Dubai. The app was a full e-commerce solution that allowed end customers to select items and make payments, while also providing back-end admin functionality for customer management. Coming to the U.S. presented significant challenges as a non-native English speaker, but I've grown tremendously. I returned to education after many years to pursue my master's degree at UMS University, where I'm now preparing to transition to a PhD program. During my master's program, I participated in NASA's Blue Sky competition, and my team's proposal was selected for the second phase with excellent feedback, though we were ultimately removed due to eligibility requirements. I plan to continue developing that project and publish it as a research paper this summer. I'm passionate about staying current with emerging technologies, particularly in artificial intelligence and machine learning, and I regularly read newsletters to keep up with developments in these fields. As a mother of three children (two teenagers and one in second grade), balancing family responsibilities with my career and education has been challenging but rewarding. I've overcome my initial difficulties with public speaking and presentations, and I now feel confident talking about my ideas, thoughts, and projects. My focus is on delivering quality products - whether websites or mobile applications - that leave customers satisfied, and on continuously learning and adapting to new technologies.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Teana
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to being able to deliver products that truly serve my customers. When I deliver a website or mobile application and I can see that the customer is satisfied with my work and can actually use it effectively, that's when I feel I've done something good. Success for me also comes from continuously learning new technologies and being able to successfully complete big projects using those new technologies. It's about pushing myself to master emerging tools and techniques, and then applying them to create real solutions that make a difference for the people who use them.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I've ever received came from my husband, who I studied with at the same university when we were doing our bachelor's degrees. He believed in me and encouraged me that I could do it - that I could complete my higher education and succeed. He supported me in facing my biggest challenges, particularly with the language barrier, and encouraged me to make connections with people from different cultures and backgrounds. His belief in my abilities gave me the confidence to pursue my goals even when things seemed difficult.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Believe in yourself - that's the most important thing. You have to believe that you can do it and that you can prove yourself as a woman. It's absolutely possible to have a family, a husband, a big family, and still succeed in your career and education. You can balance everything and do it all perfectly. My advice is to let your family be involved and help you along the way. Don't think you have to choose between family and career - you can have both and excel at both.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
For me in the U.S., my first challenge is definitely the language - making myself clear and delivering my thoughts in a good way so that others can understand me very well. The second major challenge I face is proving to others that age is not a barrier to success. I'm the eldest one doing a master's degree in my section, and as a mom with teenage kids, it's a big challenge to prove to other students and my professors that I can do it, that I can acquire the knowledge and handle everything just as well as anyone else. But these challenges also represent opportunities for growth - I've already made significant progress in my English speaking abilities and in proving that I can succeed despite these obstacles.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The most important value to me is handling my responsibilities and doing my best in everything I take on. My biggest value is that if I have a goal or a dream, I believe I can achieve it - I just have to take that first step. And if I fail, I don't give up. Instead, I try to do it again from a different way or path. This ensures that I don't let setbacks keep me down. The key is to keep trying and trying until you succeed. I believe in persistence and not allowing failure to define you, but rather using it as a learning opportunity to find a better approach.
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