“The making of a Maven”
Martha Njeri
Late March I joined the Cyberlearners 3.0 program offered by Cybersafe Foundation, founded by Confidence Staveley. Cybersafe Foundation has been instrumental in equipping women with necessary digital and cybersecurity skills helping bridge the gender gap in the Tech world.
First we got an orientation session that gave us a walkthrough of the program- the trainings, specializations, our mentors and everything else. I felt a surge of confidence- I knew I was at the right place at the right time. Our mentors kept insisting that we have to put in the work, it not an easy program, it’s rigorous and I kept thinking to myself, “how hard could it be?” Besides, I am MARTHA NJERI, nothing is too hard for me.” Boy was I wrong.
Now, first week into the program, I almost quit, the workload was intense. To meet the set deadlines I had to wake up early and study late into the night. Those early mornings were brutal, never a morning person(or so I thought). Waking up way before dawn to study actually brought back a wave of homesickness from my high school days.
By the second week I was slowly adapting to my new life, I had a well laid out schedule, this allowed me to juggle studying with work responsibilities, Although the idea of waking up early and sleeping late did not sit well with me, but what could I do? Sometimes you have to do what you need to do.
Week three hit me hard, I spent my weekends buried in cybersecurity manuals, oh my! I couldn’t even spare time to catch the latest episode of the Bridgeton series. I started to wonder- is this what my life would be like for the next eight months? Oh man?!
On the weekend of the third week, feeling overwhelmed, I called Cynthia Chepkemoi , a Cybergirl 2.0 Alumni, I poured out my woes-the early mornings, the endless studying, the fear of missing out, everything. Her words to me, ” Martha buckle up, in fact forget Netflix for a while and for the weekend it will be pretty much you in books.” She went on to share her own experience, “It wasn’t easy juggling work and the program but sacrifices had to be made, Was it hard? Yes. Does it get easier? Not really. But is it worth it? Definitely yes! This program will enrich you Martha, it will transform you. Give it your all, I did it, You can do it too.”
Early mornings and late nights are my new reality. The movies are on hold for now, The novels though, that’s a struggle, I am currently reading “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo” by Taylor Jenkins, but sadly I only get to read one page a day, sigh! sorrows, sorrows, prayers!
I can’t help but wonder, when has growth ever been easy? How can anything truly rewarding come without sacrifice? Yes, I am putting in the work, making the sacrifices, I’ll do it when I’m happy, tired, swamped at work, I am not giving up. This is my story, written one day, one step at a time; The making of a maven!
