I Was Told Tech Wasn't a Realistic Path. Today, I'm Helping Secure the Future of Digital Healthcare.

Growing up in a traditional environment, the rules for career paths felt set in stone. If you went to a science-focused secondary school, everyone, your friends, your teachers, your parents, assumed you only had two real options: medicine or nursing.

But I always had a quiet obsession with computers. I didn't know what coding was, and I didn't know anything about the tech ecosystem. I just knew that the world was going digital. To me, a computer was a passport to any industry. I used to think, “If I learn how to use a computer, I can work anywhere, a bank, a hospital, or a government office.”

When I told my friends I wanted to study computer science, they frowned at it. They thought it wasn't a serious path for a girl. So, I followed the trend. I applied to nursing colleges and eventually got an admission offer.

But reality hit me hard. I asked myself, “Is this really what I want to do?” (I hate blood) I knew I had to make a choice before it was too late.

While at home waiting for school to resume, I stumbled on a WhatsApp advertisement for affiliate marketing. Curious, I dived in. I quickly realized that to run successful ads and get leads, I needed a landing page. That was my introduction to WordPress.

The biggest hurdle? I didn’t even own a laptop.

Every day, I walked down my street to a local cyber café. I paid for time just to use their computers and teach myself landing page design. One day, the owner of the café saw the designs I was working on. Impressed, he asked me to design a website for his business. That became my very first tech gig.

When I finished, he told me something that changed my life: “There are places where you can learn how to code and build things much bigger than this.”

I went to inquire about a local coding academy. The tuition fees were high, but the spark had been lit. I went home and had a difficult but honest conversation with my parents. It is never easy convincing African parents about a career path they have never seen anyone succeed in. But they saw my passion. Instead of paying the tuition for the nursing college, they made a bet on my dream: they bought me my very first laptop and paid for the coding vocational training.

The training center was a reality check. We started as a vibrant class of 30 students. But tech is demanding, and as the months went by, people dropped out. By the end of the year, only a handful of us graduated. I was one of them.

The academy didn't just teach me how to build websites; it opened my mind to the global tech community. They taught us to open Twitter (X) and LinkedIn accounts to connect with professionals worldwide.

One afternoon, while scrolling through Twitter, I saw a post about a program training women in cybersecurity. I didn't even know what cybersecurity meant, so I Googled it. I was completely blown away. While I loved computers for the magic you could create with them, cybersecurity opened up a whole new world. It forced me to understand the computer deeply from cloud computing to infrastructure security. I applied immediately.

Since entering cybersecurity, I have had the opportunity to work across consulting, governance, risk management, and compliance, helping organizations strengthen their security posture and navigate complex regulatory requirements. Along the way, I have also shared my knowledge through speaking engagements, mentorship programs, and community initiatives focused on increasing access to cybersecurity opportunities for young people and women in technology.

Today, I work at a cybersecurity consulting firm, helping organizations defend their digital assets and improve their security posture. I also serve as the Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) Lead at PrivaCure, a healthcare technology platform designed to transform Nigerian healthcare from traditional paperwork to secure digital spaces. The role has given me a front-row seat to how technology can transform critical sectors like healthcare while reinforcing the importance of building trust, privacy, and security into digital products from day one.

But technical growth means nothing if you don't pull others up with you. Because I know how lonely it is to navigate this space without support, I manage GiSOC (Girls in Security Operations). Seeing participants move from complete beginners to earning certifications, securing jobs, and beginning careers in cybersecurity has been one of the most rewarding parts of my journey.

Beyond GiSOC, I actively mentor aspiring cybersecurity professionals, helping them navigate learning paths, prepare for opportunities, and build confidence in a field that can often feel intimidating to newcomers.

I have also had the privilege of speaking at technology and industry events, sharing insights on cybersecurity, digital transformation, and career growth in technology. These opportunities have reinforced my belief that representation matters because seeing someone who looks like you succeeding can make a dream feel possible.

When I look back, the biggest obstacle to my dream wasn't a lack of talent, it was my environment. It was the ignorance of how deeply technology is changing the world. Because my friends and community couldn't see the vision, they didn't believe it was possible.

I want to change that. I am currently rolling out plans as a tech advocate to visit secondary schools. I want to look young girls in the eyes and tell them that there is a world of opportunities waiting for them beyond the traditional career paths sold to us by outdated school curriculums.

If my story proves anything, it is that talent exists everywhere, but exposure and opportunity do not. That is why I am committed to creating pathways for more young people to discover careers in technology. If you have the curiosity to learn and the grit to stay when others leave, your dreams are completely valid and achievable.