The first fight for my independence and to forge my own path came when it was time to make a decision as to which college I should attend. My parents expected me to pick the big school, VTech, where there was hope that I would major in Computer Science, graduate and make lots of money. Little did they know the next 10 years they will be watching me do the complete opposite. I said I wanted to attend a little school in nowhere Virginia (everyone’s impression) then called Randolph-Macon Woman’s College.
I did very much like computers at the time. In fact, that was the surest way to punish me when I was younger, by taking my laptop away, but I didn’t think that was what I wanted to do with my life. I wanted to be a writer. I thought I could hide away in that small woman’s college and do my creative writing and that’ll be it. I did TRY my first year at RMWC to study Computer Science, but I had no interest and till this day it is the only class I’ve ever received an F. A “whole me” as my people would say, received F. I wasn’t passionate about it for a number of reasons (a story for another day) and I shifted to other things.
From then on it would be a LONG journey to bring me to the point where I would embrace myself as a tech girl…woman, who is passionate about how technology can be a tool for innovation, especially in education. I learned in the past 14 years that I love informal learning, I want to change the way we educate our children in Africa and across the developing world. That me running away from a career in tech was because of the way it was presented to me; rigid, not fun, men’s space etc. I am determined to change that narrative and have women and girls see it differently.
I know what the stats say about how rare we are in STEM, although it doesn’t feel like it because I’ve always found myself in Tech spaces that were purposeful about including women and I’ve always made sure that I wasn’t the only one present. As I read the other day, I endeavor to cast a net, not helping women and girls up a ladder, but throwing a net.
So today is…
International Women’s Day 2023: “DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality”
“Innovation and technological change, and education in the digital age for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls”.
UN Women
It is late on my side of the world, but this is not just a one-day thing for me. When this day ends, the work must go on. It is not the “hip” new thing to talk about. So I ask what are you doing to cast a net and create gender equality and empower women and girls in this space?
It has been a while since I wrote about what I am doing if it is not about Sudu and I hate talking about myself, but over the years, I’ve had the great pleasure of…
- Launching an innovation lab as Program Director for InLabs with Innovate Salone and teaching design thinking and other cool things to young people in Sierra Leone
- Teaching STEAM (the A is for Arts because they are important!) to an all-girls summer camp in VA
- Conducting pop-up maker faires with elementary school children in the Cambridge, MA area
- Serving as Innovation Officer and launching and supporting great projects like Learning Passport, Giga, Digital Learning Hubs, and more
..and so much more! Happy International Women’s Day! I hope tomorrow the conversation and action continue!
Salone Creatives 
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