10 Questions with Adanta Ahanonu
Adanta Ahanonu is the Site Director for Year Up at Diablo Valley College. Year Up is a national nonprofit that empowers underserved young adults to go from minimum wage to meaningful careers in a single year with the help of a free intensive career readiness and higher education training program. Students spend six-months in a classroom setting learning professional and technical skills, followed by six months in an internship at top companies like Google, Salesforce and Facebook.
As the Site Director, Adanta is responsible for overseeing the site’s overall program activities, growth strategy and performance to ensure high quality student outcomes. She also serves as the primary liaison between Year Up and the senior level administrators at Diablo Valley College to ensure alignment with Year Up’s strategic goals. She has been at Year Up for four years and started working at Year Up Greater Boston leading the recruitment and outreach team.
Adanta is originally from Arizona and moved to Massachusetts to attend Boston University, where she received her Bachelors of Science in Business Administration. Adanta lived in Boston for 10 years before moving to the Bay Area in June 2017.
Photo Credit: Sotheara Yem, follow on Instagram @sothearayem.
1. When did you decide you wanted to be in tech?
When I was younger, I wanted to be a pediatrician. Early on in high school however, I realized I could barely stomach the trailers of Nip/Tuck, so medical school might be a challenge.
I am the eldest child of a Nigerian father and Ugandan mother. As I grew up, my fascination with other cultures became more and more apparent, which led me to study Business Administration with a focus in International Management.
When I graduated, I spent two years in a leadership program at an insurance company focused in the Claims department before transitioning into a role in the Technology group. I consciously decided then and there that I wanted to be in tech. I’ve always loved being innovative, solutions-driven and helping others succeed. In this department, I was able to do just that by collaborating cross-functionally to analyze and recommend innovative improvement processes for future system enhancements, as well as manage automation training and consulting opportunities for our independent partner agencies.
After a few years, I was eager to blend my passion for youth empowerment and business, and I happened to stumble across Year Up — an organization whose mission is closing the opportunity divide by supporting underserved young adults in launching professional careers in tech. During my time at Year Up, it’s been a privilege to witness how career opportunities in the tech industry have completely changed the life trajectory of the 3,500+ students we serve each year.
2. Who’s someone you looked up to when you were younger?
My mom! She might be a superhuman. Anyone who’s crossed paths with her would undoubtedly agree.
For my entire life, she’s worked tirelessly at home and endless hours at work to ensure her four children were set up for success. She sacrificed her own dreams to do it, and she’s done it with pride as she’s witnessed all of us grow and achieve our own professional goals. She has always challenged us to be and do our best, while simultaneously providing us with love and support.
She’s a role model for how to live a life treating others with the utmost respect, kindness and love. Her infectious and warm energy fills any room she steps into, and she’s taught me how to be humble yet confident, driven and service-oriented and in my toughest moments, how to keep my chin up and remember that “this too shall pass”. My proudest qualities undoubtedly come from her.
3. Where’s your hometown?
Tucson, Arizona. Home of the Arizona Wildcats!
4. Can you tell me about a time you faced a struggle.
Being a “yes” person in the workplace has been one of my biggest challenges. I’ve always set high (and sometimes unrealistic) expectations for myself in terms of how I define success. I’ve pushed myself to take hold of every opportunity presented, and at some point, I created this mentality that exceeding expectations in the workplace meant rarely saying “no.” The result? Biting off more than I could chew. And because I resisted failing at my own expectations and also assumed that I may disappoint my colleagues and not be tapped for future opportunities, I would sacrifice work-life happiness for unhealthy hours. I’ve learned that it’s okay to say, “No,” or, “I’m interested, but not right now.”
5. Can you tell me about something you’ve done that you’re immensely proud of?
Making the decision to transition from the private sector to the nonprofit space. I love serving others, and at times, that has worked to my detriment. I’ve always had this fear of letting others down, and walking away from what felt like a golden ticket to financial stability and career success in the private sector terrified me. While working in insurance, I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to volunteer and serve young people through programs like Big Brothers Big Sisters, Collegiate Success Institute of Worcester, the United Way Campaign, and Girls Inc. These experiences fueled my desire to work for a mission-driven organization, but there was still a voice in my head challenging this interest.
What will my parents think about the pay cut?
How will my managers and colleagues feel after they have invested time mentoring me and supporting my professional growth in insurance?
Will I still live happily on a lower salary?
What if the grass isn’t greener?
Through much self-reflection, and with the support from friends and mentors, I was able to acknowledge these concerns and at the same time, move forward with following my passion for serving underrepresented young adults. In January 2014, I joined Year Up, and I haven’t looked back!
6. What’s something that’s been on your mind a lot lately?
Mindfulness. It was not too long ago that I stepped back and acknowledged that by the time I woke up each morning, I was already inundated with text messages, the latest news story on NPR, Instagram stories, inspirational quotes and the recent social buzz from blogs I subscribe to. I noticed that taking in all of this information within the first 10 minutes of waking up was impacting how I showed up the rest of the day. I would arrive to work an hour later, laser-focused on the long list of to-dos I’d already compiled in my brain during my commute. And as I progressed throughout each day filled with back-to-back meetings and emails continuously rolling into my inbox, thousands of thoughts were simultaneously racing through my head. A few months ago, a common theme I started observing was that many leaders that I’m inspired by and deeply respect identified how practicing mindfulness had positively impacted their daily mindset. With that, I updated my 2018 goals and replaced the 10 minutes of allowing myself to be inundated with external information with 10 minutes of mindfulness each day!
7. Favorite food?
Gala apple with peanut butter (aka, my daily afternoon snack).
8. Mac or PC?
They say that “once you go mac, you never go back” so for now, I’m holding on tightly to my PC.
9. If you could try another job for a day, what would it be?
I would be on Broadway! I grew up as a dancer and have always loved musicals. Although I have no formal acting skills, I’ve been told by work colleagues that my animated roleplaying skills have potential. ;-) Unfortunately, I was not blessed with vocal cords that are tolerable to anyone else’s ears but my own, so it’s a bit unclear how that would work but a girl can dream, right?
10. If you could give your 18-year-old self a piece of advice, what would it be?
Be intentional about carving out time during one semester of college to study abroad and experience the unique opportunity of temporarily grounding your feet in unfamiliar territory and educating yourself about another country’s culture, community and traditions. (It’s much more difficult to carve out that time once you start working!) The perspective and knowledge you’ll gain through this experience will be invaluable.
