Meet Eunice Allela – Google Developer Relations Community Manager (SSA) Sub Saharan Africa. She is additionally a Software Developer, Digital Skills Trainer and a GHC Scholar 2019. Eunice Allela is a powerhouse to say the least. A lady who at her age has conquered a life-time milestones.
She has made impeccable impact in the tech space and a great deal of people look up to her.
Here is an exclusive interview with Eunice Allela and she takes us on a journey to how she landed her first job.
Who is Eunice Allela?
My name is Allela Eunice, but most people know me as Denise. I am a lady who simply loves Tech.
What were your career dreams as a child?
Growing up , I wanted to pursue a career in Journalism and this was because I loved watching television and seeing the smile across the anchors faces and how dressed up they were.😂. I mean, who would not want to be smart and command everyone’s attention when sharing updates with the whole country.
Kindly take us through your education journey.
All my life I studied in one region , Western Kenya from pre-school all the way through to University . Started off with Computer Studies in high-school where 5 of us out of 278 students (girls) picked it as a subject of choice. I then proceeded to do Computer Science at Maseno University, Kenya which again proved to be a more male dominated field .
Did you work while you were still studying, why?
I was lucky to secure a job as a Learning Facilitator at eMobilis while pursuing my studies. Main reason was to be able to gain the work experience, share knowledge gained over time with fellow tech enthusiasts but also be able to chip in to my educational journey (up-keep in school).
What were the responsibilities In your first internship/job?
My first job involved teaching students within eMobilis on Mobile Software Development , Database Management and a bit of back-end engineering . I was tasked with doing learner follow-ups , giving them assignments and grading them before they could graduate from the institution.
How did you get your first full time job?
I would say it was a mixture of a referral and someone seeing what I was posting online. I enjoyed to share posts focusing on any technical gathering/community meetup that I was a part of . These posts intrigued the HR who bumped into my profile and she happily recommended me for a role that I did not see myself being an ideal fit for. I guess it was a combination of fighting imposter syndrome and proving to myself that I could do it .
It’s never too late to get started in whatever field you choose ..Be in pursuit of whatever it is you are passionate about and with time you will see the fruits of your hard work .
What are the highlights of your career journey?
I would say moving from Software Engineering to Developer Relations was a switch I never saw coming and seeing the impact of what I do at the moment across Sub-Saharan Africa has been nothing but an inspiration to others .
What is your greatest regret regarding your career?
I always wish I learnt the importance of specializing in one item and not trying to juggle everything. At some point, I could not state what I was a master of because even I had no idea.
What is the greatest risk you have taken matters career and education?
Taking a gap year to focus on technical skill acquisition without knowing what exactly I was in pursuit of .
Are you currently happy with where you are?
On a scale of 1-10 I would say I am at 9.99 with a 0.01 room for growth. This is because I have seen progress in myself and the strides that I have made over time .
If you would go back 10 years of your life, what would you change?
10 years back I was 15 ,(laughs), not so many things to choose from at that point. I would probably ask more questions and be a more curious child .
Advice to someone who is in the space of job searching?
It’s never too late to get started in whatever field you choose ..Be in pursuit of whatever it is you are passionate about and with time you will see the fruits of your hard work .
For more wonderful articles click here
