Fellow Stories: Meet Myriam
vol. 5, no. 63 — guest post by Myriam Iralien
Growing up in Haiti I was always strong in math but because of the situation of the country, I never considered Mathematics as a legitimate career path. In Haiti to be successful and be proud by your family you should become a doctor, lawyer, engineer, or an agronomist. Seven years ago, when I moved to Boston and was free of what expected of me from my family and my country, I realized I could be anything I wanted to be. Thus, after my senior year of High school, I attended Bunker Hill Community College(BHCC) where I completed my associates degree in math. During my completion of my degree at BHCC, I won a full ride scholarship to attend Boston University(BU) to obtain a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics. I then transferred to BU as a Junior and last year I received my diploma.
I once told myself that I would break my family sequence by graduating from college and I succeeded. I am the youngest of ten, the first woman in my family to attend university, and the first to graduate as a STEM student.
I started to develop a love for coding after taking a required Python course during my undergrad at BU. While completing the class, I enjoyed it just as much as my math classes. I was not yet convinced, however, that I wanted to pursue a career in computer engineering based on my love for just one class. I decided to take other programming courses after graduation just to be certain and to expand my skills. I took a JavaScript course and I was impressed with the experience. I then realized that computer coding is exactly what I want to go after. That is when I made the decision to get my master’s degree in Software Engineering. Before doing so, I aim to get hands-on experience in some tech companies through Hack.Diversity, connect with fellows who are already in the industry, and learn their pros and cons of this path. I may be the first but I am certain I will not be the last woman in my family to make it.
What motivates me is that my family would be able to use my story to push themselves to keep going and that other Haitian girls would be able to use my achievement as a reason to never quit.
I am a black woman from the Caribbean who immigrated to the United States and I made it. What excites me about Hack.Diversity is my curiosity of the woman they aim to make of me. I dream to work in IT for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Cyber crime is becoming a real threat and I believe with my resilience, my compassion, and my problem-solving skills I can save lives and make a huge difference.
