Cohort Stories: Meet Surafel
vol. 5, no. 83 — guest post by Surafel Wudneh
What makes me most proud of my Ethiopian background and identity is the beauty of the diverse culture and language. I am from a country where over 80 different languages are spoken. I have always been amazed by the tolerance in the culture and language of the society I came from. The name of the small town I grew up was “Sululta.” It is about 40 miles away from Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia. In my hometown alone, Amharic, Oromigna, Tigrigna and Guragena are the four different languages that the society uses to communicate. The community that speaks each language has its own culture and lifestyle. They have different foods and different ways of expressing their identity and lifestyle, but they all live together peacefully in one small town. For example, I do not speak all four languages, but I speak two of them, Amharic and Oromigna. Growing up in a community such as Sululta, with its cultural and language diversity, has been an important childhood memory for me and one of which I will always be proud.
I have always been curious about technology and eager to learn how a computer system function. My excitement in technology started when I was little. I used to enjoy playing games. As I grew up and figured that the game, I used to play was controlled by a computer system, I even became more excited about technology. However, before I moved to the U.S., I have not had much opportunity to learn and discover more about technology due to my limited access to computers in my home country. My interest of entering the technology world always remained in my mind even with my limited access to computers. After I completed high school in Ethiopia, I moved to the U.S. because of my family. Moving to the U.S. was the turning point for me to easily get involved in technology. I was able to enroll at Bunker Hill Community College, majoring in Information Technology.
As I continue to further my education, my interest in technology is becoming more fascinating and enjoyable. It is interesting to see how fast technology is growing too, and I’m excited to be a part of the technology industry.
Everyone tends to have that dream job that they want someday. What I have accomplished so far has not been easy, and I’m aware that landing on my dream job will not be easy too, but I’m ready and excited for the journey. I am fascinated by the technology world in general, but I aspire to be a software developer, and I am ready to overcome all the challenges I may face to become one. Since I started school at Bunker Hill Community College, I have been exposing myself more to programming courses. I plan to transfer to UMass Boston after I finish my Associates at Bunker Hill Community College.
I am happy to be a member of the 2021 Cohort of Hack.Diversity. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for me.
