Introduction
The year 2024 has truly been an experience for a lot of us, it’s a few days to the end of the year and I thought to share with you all my highlights of 2024. I like to end the year with these highlights because it allows me to reflect on the positives so, walk with me…
The year began with me passively contributing to an internship at my company. Feeling a bit out of touch with some DevOps fundamentals, I decided to tackle the same tasks the internship participants were working on. The outcome far exceeded my expectations. For 3 months, I had the chance to explore tools I wasn’t familiar with, like Vantage and Komiser, FinOps tools designed for cost optimization. I also dove deeper into monitoring and observability tools such as Prometheus, Grafana, Loki, and OpenTelemetry. Additionally, I expanded my knowledge of GCP resources, shifting focus from my usual AWS expertise. If you’ve been following my publications this all gave me quite a lot to talk about.
Outside of work, I was a mentor and speaker at the Digital Making for Good Workshop organized by the Odyssey Educational Foundation. This 5-day workshop featured young girls in secondary schools ages 10–15 being trained to gain hands-on skills in 3D- printing and design, Laser printing and design, embroidery design, Creating AR/VR experiences with its software and gadgets, hardware development with Raspberry Pi, T-shirt customization, and printing with the DSF machine.
I spoke on my experience transitioning from Biological Science into the Tech industry, the opportunities I’ve been exposed to since, and how they too can use the skills they learn in the workshop to develop a career.
In the early weeks of the 2nd quarter, I mentored a few teams through their applications for the Technovation challenge, and in May, I moderated the Technovation Girls pitch event (Abuja region).
Technovation Girls is a global initiative aimed at empowering young girls to become leaders and innovators in technology by teaching them essential skills in coding, entrepreneurship, and problem-solving. Participants, ranging from ages 8 to 18, work in teams to identify real-world problems in their communities and develop mobile apps as solutions, guided by mentors who support their learning journey. The program culminates in a global competition where girls pitch their projects to industry experts, fostering confidence and inspiring them to pursue careers in STEM fields. By bridging the gender gap in technology, Technovation Girls helps shape a generation of socially conscious, tech-savvy leaders.
That moment was especially meaningful to me as it was my first time addressing such a large crowd, and hosting/moderating events has always been a dream of mine.
In the past two years since I’ve been volunteering with the Odyssey Educational Foundation (a non-profit dedicated to empowering girls and women through technology), guiding young girls to develop new skills and grow their confidence has become one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.
By the end of the 3rd quarter, I joined as one of the tutors for a women-only DevOps workshop organized by G3Women. The program was designed for tech-savvy beginners transitioning into cloud roles, focusing on the fundamentals of DevOps. We covered essentials such as Linux commands, CI/CD, Containerization, Networking, Cloud basics, and Bash scripting, delivering an impactful, hands-on training experience in four weeks. As it was my first time tutoring, I embraced the challenge of breaking down complex concepts into simple, digestible pieces for beginners, and it became a deeply fulfilling learning experience for me as well.
I later had the opportunity to organize and mediate a virtual women-only branding workshop, HERBrand, an initiative by G3Women. The event featured industry experts who shared insights on leveraging social media effectively, optimizing CVs and LinkedIn profiles highlighting the impact of professional headshots and the importance of networking in both professional and social spaces.
By the end of the workshop, we ensured that each participant received a professional headshot to enhance their branding efforts. It was an incredibly enriching experience to facilitate such meaningful conversations, empowering women to build both their personal and professional brands with confidence and intention.
I also had the privilege of being part of the production crew for WILAN’s The Leading Woman Show S3 (Policy Series), where I worked as a scriptwriter on set. The experience was both challenging and deeply rewarding. Collaborating with such a dynamic team and contributing to a show that highlights Nigerian Policies and their impacts was truly wholesome. It’s an opportunity I am definitely looking to explore again.
Finally, a week ago, I partnered with a lawyer I connected with at an event to launch a campaign aimed at making sanitary pads free across Africa by 2050.
Our initiative, The Pad Bank Africa, focuses on providing free sanitary pads in public spaces like restaurants, malls, and clubs to address emergencies and normalize accessibility of sanitary pads. The ultimate goal is to advocate for government support and budget allocations, paving the way for free sanitary pads for all women.
Conclusion
This was my 2024 in less than a thousand words. Having set some of my goals for 2025, I am very open to networking with individuals or organizations that share an interest in developing girls/women. so if you made it this far and know any, I would be happy to connect with you.
Do connect or send a DM on LinkedIn
or send an email to eemarabs@gmail.com
Till next time, Safe signing out for 2024…
Happy Holidays Everyone!🎄
P.S If you’re a subscriber, kindly receive this heartfelt thank you ❤️
I truly appreciate you all🙏🏾
