First of all a background story. My name is Joy Victor, I'm a Computer Science undergraduate at Kaduna State University. My relationship with computers started way back. My Dad got toy computers for me when I was a kid and I was absolutely fascinated by them 😁😁

In Secondary school, I started learning BASIC (Beginners' All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) programming language and I was pretty good at it. I dabbled into Web development with time and did exploit. My work and brilliance was everywhere, especially because I was a young girl. Somehow, Facebook found out about my work and called me for an interview. Guess what??? I qualified. Now I get to do cool stuff for Facebook and see Mark Zuckerberg face to face every single day... How cool is that?

Just kidding, but I wish my tech journey was like that! But everything I said prior was the truth, I promise not to cook up any more stories. Now, let me tell you the true story.

TRUE STORY

I consider my tech journey as that of the prodigal son. I started learning the basics of computers while I was still in secondary school. I had classes every evening after school, but I NEVER attended! I only show up for the weekend classes and win all the competitions. Genius eh! Little did I know that it wasn't the best for me. I never graduated from Computer Training School because I don't attend classes, pretty obvious. I also wasted my Dad's money because that was the most expensive computer training school at the time where I lived.

ANOTHER SHINENGAN!

In 2016, I enrolled in another Computer Training School. For the first month, I was serious. I came to classes early, left late. Did assignments and submitted them before time, I wanted to do things differently this time. By the second month, I was bored and I repeated the previous cycle... I skipped classes and submitted assignments when I pleased. Final exams came and I passed. That's how I got my certificate in Structured Programming and Data Processing. Did I mention the manager gave me a job offer? Yours truly declined. He probably saw something in me that I didn't see in myself.

COMPUTER SCIENCE STUDENT

Now was time to get into the university, the responsibility to choose a course was saddled upon me. It felt like the weight of the world was upon my shoulders. I was a science student in secondary school so obviously, I'd have to pick a science course in the university. Pretty simple, yeah. The problem was, I had an allergy to strong scents also known as fragrance sensitivity. This means I can't pick any course that would take me to the laboratory. I also hated engineering so that was struck out of the list. My options were very limited, once again I had to go with tech. That's how I landed in the Computer Science Department.

INTERNSHIP

As a Nigerian student, when you're in 300level you must intern at a reputable company for six months. I picked CoLab Kaduna for my internship. It's the best tech hub in Kaduna and it's close to my house. I started my internship with basic knowledge of Python and zero goals. Day 0 in CoLab was eye-opening for me. I met so many smart people with a great sense of humor. They didn't act like regular Nigerians, as they were unconventional. I liked it! Every day I came to CoLab with a determination to learn and learn fast. I also had support from super amazing people within and outside CoLab.

THE JOURNEY NEVER ENDS

It's been six months since I started CoLab and I haven't quit. I'm a Python Developer now and I teach others during my free time. I'm also learning Data Science. I have a job courtesy of my friend and a paid Data Science internship (aside CoLab) It's been a weird journey for me, but I'm enjoying the process.😁😁😁