Hear From Judith Emenike, Alumni of The Month- December, 2022

My name is Judith Emenike. I’m a product designer and a member of the I4G community. My tech journey started while I was studying computer engineering in the University. I also had the opportunity to learn to code while in school. When I was in my fourth year as an undergraduate, I did my internship as a web developer. I had to learn to use HTML, Javascript and CSS. I soon realized web development wasn’t what I enjoyed doing. 

I was exploring other fields in tech when I discovered product design. I love that I could use colors, fonts and shapes to bring an idea to life! The products I could create would proffer a solution to someone and I could use design skills to make life easier for them. This made me excited so I started learning about product design on YouTube. Unfortunately, I found it difficult to comprehend so I took a certification course but it wasn’t any better so I continued learning on YouTube. 

As I searched for opportunities online, I found out about Ingressive For Good and subscribed to their newsletter. One day, I received an email from them about the 1000 Women In Design scholarship program in partnership with Geneza School of Design. I applied and got in!

I was so excited that I would be learning product design at Geneza School of Design! 

Then, I received an email from Ingressive for good about the 1000 Women in Design Scholarship opportunity. I decided to give it a shot and I got the scholarship! I was so excited to enroll in the school of Geneza Designs to learn Product Design.

The training was different from what I had experienced in the other courses I took. The course was well structured and there was a road map to follow. The teachings we’re easy to understand and practical. I also loved that we had access to I4G and Geneza team members so we could ask them questions on the telegram group. I got to meet other learners on the telegram group so this made networking easier for me. 

We were often encouraged to share our work online but I found it difficult to do it because I had imposter syndrome. I was always scared that my designs weren’t good enough. Thanks to the constant encouragement from the tutors, I learnt to share my work knowing people would get to see what I could do and I could also get feedback on how to improve. I soon learnt to network effectively. 

I worked on my LinkedIn profile and started optimizing the features on the platform to network and put myself out there. 

One day I got a notification on Linkedin about a job opening that matched my skill set. I applied for it immediately and after a week, I was invited for an interview with the company. Three days after the interview,I got a call that I had been offered a job! I was so excited that I had gotten a job as a product designer!

My new employer mentioned that she went through my LinkedIn profile and she could see my career growth over the past months. This made her have confidence in me. 

Networking paid off!

My experience as an I4G community member has been amazing so far! I have learnt much more than design skills. I am always open to opportunities that help me become a better person. The knowledge gained from coding has been quite useful as I am able to understand the developers I work with and relate with them to design products effectively. 

I4G has been very instrumental in my growth. I have learnt from the people they bring to speak to us about different aspects of building a successful tech career. The content shared on social media has also been useful as I have gained from the growth tips and other opportunities. 

To anyone who is also building a tech career, I’d encourage you to put yourself out there. Leverage the internet and network! Don’t let fear stop you from putting yourself out there and building a successful career.