Cohort Stories: Meet Randy
vol. 6, no. 104—guest post by Randy Jean
Growing up, my parents always reminded me that I already have two check marks against me as an African American male. One is the color of my skin, the other is for being an immigrant from Haiti. Both circumstances out of my control. Instead of “checkmarks,” I call it my identity. I am proud to say that I am a minority, whereas I understand the harsh reality of life. The difficult decision my family made to risk their lives coming to the United States in hope of building a better life gave me courage. I knew this journey was going to be difficult. My family was not wealthy nor was everyone educated. From a young age I took matters into my own hands and never settled for less. I had to work for everything I wanted. With lack of resources, I sought out ways to challenge and to further educate myself. The discipline and determination instilled in me led me to love and embrace the person I have become. I will be forever grateful for my family and peers.
The reality is, in this type of world an individual like me is expected to fail but every one of my achievements is a milestone.
My passion for technology derived from a completely different path. Prior to transferring to the University of Massachusetts Boston, I was working towards a business degree. Despite this, technology seemed to always excite me. The realization came about while working for a software sales company. Even on the sales end, I found myself intrigued with the platform’s innovation. A ton of applications and components. I grew curious, inspired to analyze what is making all this work in the back end. The individual in the next department coding and ensuring that the platform is fulfilling my client’s needs, was the guy I wanted to be. The tech industry is like no other, I want to be a part of this evolving innovation.
Hack.Diversity will provide me a platform to be myself while putting me in a position to network and overcome any challenges. This environment will aid my transition, whereas my confidence in this field was very little. Gaining knowledge and valuable technical skills needed in this industry is key to my success. When it comes to my career, I would like to create solutions for minorities and problems in my community. The support and challenges Hack will provide are only going to bring me a step closer.
