I attended the recent Mavens I/O Conference by We Build Black, a welcoming community looking to foster the growth of black technologists across the US.
The inspirational day-long conference, held in New York City, brought together phenomenal women from diverse technical fields and backgrounds. Speakers from Google, JP Morgan, Gartner and other prominent tech companies offered their stories, as well as lessons from hard fought battles in the workplace.
I loved this conference and it truly spoke to me, as the speakers echoed many of my own struggles transitioning into tech – from imposter syndrome, perfectionism,being your authentic self, gaining experience and credibility, and so much more. The programming and content truly spoke to my mind and my heart.
The words from Aretha Lewin Antoine (pictured left) resonated with me the most. Ms. Antoine discussed her own path to tech and offered “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be?”
Looking forward to next year’s conference!
