Cohort Stories: Meet Jayla
vol. 6, no. 64—guest post by Jayla Galvez
Breaking the generational curse of poverty began with my faith. The walls of my home were built on a crumbling foundation. Right now, I’m only focussing on what is right in front of me and forgetting about the things I’m unable to control. With this faith-fueled resilience and determination, I am proud to say that I have hit many milestones on my journey to Hack.Diversity. For many, graduating high school is a mere expectation, but for me, it was a huge milestone, and making it into college was a groundbreaking accomplishment. Last year I was accepted into a Mentorship program for cybersecurity and was paired with a mentor. This is when I realized that I wanted to be a Chief Information Security Officer. Last semester I was the project manager for my marketing team in the class and it helped encourage this dream.
Since I was in high school, I always thought that technology is something that you can use to make your dreams come to life.
Imaginations coming to life through video games. Virtual reality allowing you to experience a completely different world. What excites me about technology is the realm of possibilities and its fast growing nature. Technology is always advancing and there is always something new coming out. I think it gives us a greater sense of control over the things we create. It’s like a super power, being able to manipulate the way something works or what is does by knowing the basics of how it functions. Something about the way we are able to communicate with machines, teach them how to teach themselves, it’s amazing.
What motivates me right now is the light at the end of the tunnel. Not focusing on the dark and cold walls of the tunnel I’m going through, but focusing on that bright light that keeps getting brighter the more steps I take on my journey. Financial stability and being able to provide for my loved ones. As the oldest of three siblings, I take my role as the trailblazer very seriously. To be able to be a source of support for my family is a huge motivator for me. Once things are stable and money is not a scary topic I want to be able to help others and make an impact with my career. I want to be able to make an impact in cybersecurity. I will make an impact in the industry, as a Christian, and first-generation, Latina in tech.
