I have always been computer literate right from a little age of 5. My parents owned a business center (cyber cafe) so I was always there after school, on weekends and during the holidays. Back then, only people considered rich had a personal desktop and those that are wealthy had a personal laptop which was rare. People had to go to business centers to type a document, print and photocopy and those that had small companies came around to design logos, letterheads, posters and flyers. I always marveled at how my mom made those designs on CorelDraw and how my uncle typed so fast on the keyboard, it was always an intriguing experience whenever I came around.

I started designing on CorelDraw at the age of 8. I made simple cute logos for barber shops, saloons, canteens and law firms and I had my folder where I kept those designs(the desktop is gone sha lol). Dragging shapes, lines and picture icons around was so exciting and after some months, I started designing basic flyers with the names and details of their services. When I clocked 9, my dad got me my first laptop, a Dell laptop. I was so happy when I found out he installed some apps I loved playing around with like CorelDraw, MS Word 2007, Mavin Beacon Typing and Encarta Kids.

After my primary education, I went to a boarding secondary school where we used little laptops to read, we had our subjects lessons on them. I continued to learn how to design and type. After secondary school, I was asked to choose a discipline that I would love to major in. I was a science student so I had two choices, Medicine or Computer Science. I went for the “easy” choice lol and I was in love with my laptop so why not?

I got into the university in 2018 as a Computer Science undergraduate with only a basic knowledge of computers. After my first year in the university, my dad asked me to go for a 3-month software training where I started my Tech journey. I started taking Java classes, it was a physical class and I had two tutors. One taught me the fundamentals of Java and the other taught me the coding part of it. The Java programming class lasted for two months and in the third month, I told my tutor that I wanted to learn web design and he taught me how to use Joomla and WordPress. It was an amazing experience and I learned a lot but afterward, I didn’t keep practicing and began to forget what I was taught.

After my third year in the university, I had to go for my compulsory 6 months of Siwes training, where I was introduced to Java Springboot, that was when the real coding started lol. I had to refresh my memory on Java and it was an amazing experience and training but at the end of it, I noticed I wasn’t so good with coding and I “packed my luggage” lol, decided to give tech a rethink and do more research. Then I found Cloud Computing, I read different articles about cloud and I was thrilled 🥰. I started learning Cloud Computing and the experience so far has been interesting and sometimes confusing. If you wish to go into tech, start today not tomorrow, Do your research and always ask questions. Find a community, Find a mentor or a senior developer in your field of interest and follow them on their social media platforms, keep building yourself and never stop learning no matter how hard it becomes. Keep soaring high😌🤎

Love, Naza