“My name is Rejoice Okafor and I studied plant science and biotechnology at the Micheal Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike. Before coming in contact with the Cybersafe Foundation, I was an undergraduate with no defined purpose or goals.
During the frustrating eight-month ASSU strike in 2022, I stumbled upon a Facebook post about CyberGirls. This was my first introduction to cybersecurity. After exploring the Cybersafe Foundation page and witnessing inspiring testimonies from girls my age who joined the first cohort, I said to myself, I want to be like these girls one day. I eagerly applied and was thrilled to secure a spot.
During the program, the biggest challenge I faced was consistency, as it was the first time I joined a boot camp that serious and required you to put in your best at all times. I overcame this challenge with the help of my mentor (Mrs Winifred), who always encouraged us to keep doing our best at all times, and also my cyber sisters in code-brigade 6. We held each other’s hands till the end of the cohort (those girls are so awesome and supportive).
Through CyberGirls, I mastered adaptability, which is crucial for swiftly navigating changing tech landscapes. I have an AWS background from CyberGirls, but my current cybersecurity job heavily involves Microsoft and Azure Security. The skills and values instilled by CyberGirls enabled me to seamlessly transition without feeling overwhelmed.
Before CyberGirls, I didn’t have a LinkedIn account. Still, through our “One cyber thing a day” challenge, I started posting about cybersecurity, both there and on Facebook, and that’s how I got my job, through a recommendation from Facebook.
Life after CyberGirls has been great; as soon as I got out of the cohort, I had many internship opportunities. I also got two job offers, but I eventually had to turn down one and go for the better choice, which is a graduate trainee cybersecurity engineer at Infinion Technologies (a Microsoft-based IT consulting company), and I absolutely love my job.
Thank you, CyberSafe, for making my dreams of being a cybersecurity engineer come true. Now I have more clarity and purpose for my life and career.”
