Throughout my life, I’ve generally been very deliberate in everything I do: I knew what I wanted, and every undertaking was in pursuit of that goal.

As a Black girl, I was taught very early that uncertainty was a luxury I couldn’t afford and so, I had to have a dream, I had to work towards that dream, and most importantly, I had to achieve that dream.

When I decided I wanted to become a Software Engineer, it was one of the scariest leaps I’ve ever had to take for a number of reasons. Full disclosure: I cannot recall a point before my Junior year of college when I wanted to be anything but an attorney. I’ve always been a talker, with a knack for debating, so naturally, Law seemed like the best fit – or at least that’s what I’ve always told myself.

Recently however, I’ve begun to evaluate the impacts of seemingly harmless comments and actions by the people around me and how those may have directly impacted my academic and ultimately, my career choices.

One of my most distinct memories as a teenager was being told by a biology teacher that she didn’t see me” in STEM and that I should stick to something easier. She made the comment jokingly