Be the person you needed when you were younger. – Ayesha Siddiqi
About a month ago as part of an application package for a student leadership award I had to explain anomalies in my academic history. In other words, why would someone withdraw from an undergraduate medical program and pursue a career in tech. For anyone who is curious why diversity in tech is important or why I try to be as visible in this field within my community as possible here is an edited excerpt from that package.
I began making simple computer programs in BASIC (Beginner’s All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code, an early programming language) as a junior high student and had graduated to creating rudimentary websites by the time I entered high school. Although I enjoyed spending hours in front of a computer perfecting my creations, when it came time to decide what career to pursue, studying computer science never entered the equation. I can say without a doubt that this was because I did not see anyone within the field who looked like me and thus it did not seem like a viable option. Instead, because I enjoyed the sciences, volunteering at the hospital and knew of many notable women of colour in medicine I decided to become a doctor.
My love for computer science never faltered and when it came time to select my electives in second year at the University of British Columbia (UBC) I chose two introduction to computer science courses. I received two of the highest marks of my degree at UBC in those courses and contemplated staying for another year, graduating with a double major in Microbiology and Immunology and Computer Science. At this time I convinced myself to continue on with the original plan of getting into medical school as soon as possible.
I was accepted into Dalhousie Medical School and began immediately after graduating from UBC. It was not until the third year of the program that I started to realize medicine was not the right fit for me. Because of the enormous emotional, financial and time investments that my family and I had put into this career, before withdrawing from the program I took several leaves of absence to ensure it was the right decision. After much deliberation and soul searching I withdrew and took some much needed time away from post-secondary education. I contemplated entering the field of technology without formal training but at the encouragement of my parents enrolled at the University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI). This was without a doubt one of the best decisions I have ever made. I do not regret my time studying medicine as the lessons I learned about communication, empathy and integrity could not be obtained elsewhere and now I am able to appreciate being in a field that I am truly passionate about.
My passions and modus operandi are a direct result of my circuitous path to studying computer science. It is extremely important to me to be visible as a woman of colour in this field. I came late to the study of computer science because I did not see myself represented within its ranks. This has not only driven me to jump on the chance to go into schools and promote computer science whenever I can but also to initiate opportunities to do so as well. Leading computer science workshops for youth and women with little to no experience in this field has also been very rewarding. When the opportunity to become the provincial ambassador for a national initiative to research the experience of women in tech and promote and empower those in the industry, I could not pass up the opportunity to add my voice and other island voices to this important conversation.
I see the immense benefits computer science skills can offer in terms of employability and self sufficiency and am aware that there are many barriers for individuals from underrepresented communities to acquiring them. As a member of several of those communities with the aforementioned skills I feel a responsibility to make myself available as a resource for those who wish to learn. I have been extremely fortunate to partner with community organizations to deliver closed web development workshops free of charge to members of the LGTBQIA+ community and to women of colour.
It is not news that there are few women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) courses at universities so in an effort to support those of us within my department I co-founded and chair a women in mathematical and computational sciences group whose goals are to provide career development opportunities for all STEM students, support those women currently taking courses and pursuing degrees in STEM and participate in outreach to increase the number of women who consider future careers in this field. I am an advocate for my classmates and work to maintain effective dissemination of information between faculty, staff, students and other executive members of my student society. As a teaching assistant and a 3rd year student I pride myself in being an example of where new students will be if they work hard and stick with their programs.
I am extremely fortunate to be in an institution that is receptive to ideas from its students and that I have found people who believe in my vision and ability. I was raised with the idea that you should not complain about things you can do something about so this is what I have tried to do within my community.
Now that I have arrived in this field I can’t thank the online community of women and women of colour in tech that I have found through Instagram, Twitter and Facebook enough. There is something powerful about being seen, heard, supported and celebrated by individuals who have similar experiences as you do. My only regret is that did not find them sooner but hopefully as this diversity in tech movement grows no member of an underrepresented community will think a career in this field is not for them.
Best,
Patti