Cohort Stories: Meet Joshua
vol. 4, no. 38 — guest post by Joshua Anudu
Like most young boys, I looked up to my father and admired everything he did. My father is a retired clinician, so naturally, as a child growing up in Nigeria, I wanted to pursue a career in medicine. For most of my life this dream persisted, and I therefore pursued undergraduate studies in Microbiology, however, the turning point started with a constant vision of myself creating/innovating an idea to help my community. This motivated my interest with computers and allowed me to teach myself how to use the first computer my dad purchased. I later began teaching my family members what I had learned. At this point, my interest in a career in Information Technology (IT) blossomed. In order to prepare myself for a new career path, I completed IT certifications in Cisco and Ericsson technology which opened the doors to multiple opportunities to work for various multinational IT organizations such as ZTE Corporation and Ericsson as a Network Engineer.
My interest in learning and my desire to further establish my vision and career in IT management urged me to pursue an MBA with a focus in IT Management in the United States. While in school I got introduced to Hack.Diversity by a friend and a campus advisor. Upon reading their visions and value proposition, I got intrigued and applied because I understood first-hand the challenges minorities face in getting a placement.
Throughout my journey to the United States, being successful has included numerous hurdles. At my lowest points, I remembered my impoverished community, my vision of innovating a solution to making the world a better place, and God. These were my motivators to succeed.
Hack.Diversity is fascinating because of its vision to empower talented minorities to be innovative and successful. As someone who shares the same aspiration, Hack.Diversity will prepare me with the right skill sets needed to future-proof my career, set me up for success in the Boston innovative economy and gain full-time employment. The program will also make my creativity and innovative vision not only possible but achievable by using harnessed skills such as analytical thinking, design thinking, problem-solving, coding and leadership to create sustainable IT solution for human kind.
