Cohort Stories: Meet Victor
vol. 5, no. 87 — guest post by Victor Obetta
I was raised in Nigeria; a community where quality education is believed to be for wealthy people only. My parents were never able to attend school due to living in poverty. Because of this, I’ve always been determined to push myself toward my dreams. Upon graduation from my master’s degree program, I will be the first person in my family to reach that level of higher education. I have experienced many obstacles and challenges throughout my life — hunger and homelessness, to name a few. I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to escape poverty. All thanks to God, I had the opportunity to go to school in America through soccer. This is when I realized that my dreams were gradually coming true.
The first time I saw a computer at the age of 14, I was fascinated. I wanted to know what it did and how it was made. Not until I was 18, after high school, I got the opportunity to take a computer class. In my country, we had limited access to computers then, but I was trained on how to use Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. I learned how to design, which sparked an interest in pursuing a computer science degree. However, getting into higher levels of education in Nigeria is very difficult, and my uncle, with whom I was staying, did not think it was a good idea to go to school.
Looking at my background, I realized that technology is changing the world for good. However, people on my continent still don’t know much about it. During Spring 2017, my business entrepreneurship class gave me the opportunity to think critically about how to create a real business. I created a non-profit organization called Victorious Foundation. The organization is designed to help less-privileged people in my country, Nigeria. At first, I composed a set of questions and conducted research in my country to better understand my target. After analyzing the data collected from my research, I found that over 75% of people in my country live in abject poverty. I figured that getting an innovative education will help me create opportunities for them in the future. I think there is a need to eradicate poverty more especially in Africa as a whole, and more specifically, Nigeria. The purpose of my Foundation is to grow young talented students in Nigeria, in the future, to instill long-lasting, positive focus values through technology skills, sports, and standard education.
This is the reason why I joined Hack.Diversity — because of the opportunities they have for people like me in the technology world, and the way the organization has shaped many people’s lives. The organization has given hope to many people, and I’m excited to be next.
I feel blessed to have the opportunity to be a part of Hack.Diversity, and after reading more about it, I knew this would be a life-changing opportunity. I came to this country with nothing. Having gotten into this country, I feel so energized and motivated to keep pushing. I’m eager and excited to use the skills I will learn through Hack.Diversity to be successful. I have a strong interest in data science, and would like to apply this interest to provide businesses with actionable insights. I will close with this, “I wonder how long it took the world to learn that education of a poor child in the street changes the world. The sooner we realize and act on it, the better the world becomes a better place.”
