| Inspiring Glober Stories
This article is part of our series of Inspiring Glober Stories. These are stories of people, who with passion, courage and creativity overcame obstacles, made their dreams come true, or helped change the world. We hope you enjoy it and find it inspiring! |
We launched the 2nd edition of the Women that Build Awards, the award that seeks to support, highlight and give visibility to the leading women in the world of technology.
At Globant we promote diverse and global talent, which is why many of the nominees for the awards are Globers! With these Inspiring Glober Stories, we want to delve into the stories of four Globers who were nominated in the categories: Inspiring Executive, Digital Leader, Tech Entrepreneur y Rising Star.
Sabina Schneider
I have loved languages since I was a child: Spanish, German, Russian, French, and English. They are my way to deeply understand other mindsets and enrich myself. Because of this, translating was my first career choice. My physics teacher challenged this choice, though, by asking me, “In the future, machines are going to do translations; why don’t you consider programming? It’s still a language, right?” I decided to go for it and apply for admissions in engineering at Buenos Aires University in Argentina.
The path did not get easier. Even before applying I was told that “many men tried to do it and didn’t succeed. It is going to be too difficult for you, too. That’s why there aren’t a lot of women applying.” I didn’t listen to them, though, and kept moving forward. It wasn’t easy and it required many hours of study, a lot of trial and error, and a lot of resilience. I graduated from university with honors and earned a sponsorship to do an IA specialization in Germany. Here, my passion for data started, and it has only continued to grow.
I joined Globant when it was a startup of 20 people. In my work within the studios, I worked with diverse teams to develop smart, user-centric products incorporating IA to provide long-term value. During my 16 years at Globant, I have definitely found the fertile context of diversity, empathy, acceptance, and a challenge to excel at both a professional and personal level.
Becoming a mother was the most important highlight in my life. Thanks to my entrepreneurial spirit and the endless support of my husband, we embarked on this endeavour, which has been a speed teaching arena with lots of rewarding love.
Between motherhood and my career thus far, I have learned that we all need to be both challenged and supported. I believe the Women that Build Awards are a real contribution to building that support network by breaking the molds to build new contexts, by featuring examples of real women that went through or are getting through it.
Be yourself, no matter what others say, and surround yourself with those that inspire you: celebrate your strengths and work to be better, allowing your vulnerabilities, because that’s what makes us human!
To support my nomination you can vote here.
Gisella Borja
My name is Gisella Borja, and I am from Barranquilla, Colombia. Today I am a Sr. Delivery Manager at Globant for a mass media and entertainment company in the US.
It all started with an Acer Aspire Computer, a dial-up internet, and a hunger for knowledge. I decided to study Software Engineering because I always had good computer skills and I wanted to learn how to build webpages. I had no idea what I was getting into…
As a woman, I faced many challenges to accomplish this. I was accepted at one of the most prestigious universities in Colombia, Universidad de los Andes. Most of the students in my class were male. Out of 43 students, only 5 of us were women. From my class, only 2 of us graduated as Software Engineers.
When I went to college, I was not prepared for the challenges that I had to face. Just imagine people talking behind your back frequently and saying that if you passed your classes it was only because your boyfriend was doing all the assignments for you. In other words, everyone thought that I was not smart enough to be a software engineer. But I decided to be strong and keep going. Sometimes when I did not get the results that I expected on a test, my Mom would always push me and tell me “if they can, you can, just keep on going and you’ll see the results.”
I learned to speak up and to fight for what I wanted, and yes, I have been called emotional because of this, but what my heart tells me is that no one will explain my opinions and feelings like I will.
As a Glober, I feel honored to be nominated for this award and to have so many people supporting me. The most valuable thing for me was finding out that my team had nominated me and the number of people that believe in me and share the same leadership values that I have.
We have amazing women in our company running projects as Delivery Managers, Project Managers, Tech leads, developers and more. I work with them every day and they are very committed and inspiring. Let’s make sure everyone knows our Globant Women Leaders! These awards are important to recognize them and to show them that they are essential to our company’s success.
To support my nomination you can vote here.
Angela He Chen
I grew up in a typical, old-fashioned, humble Chinese home (not what you see in Crazy Rich Asians) where I was told and re-told that pursuing a career in Finance is my best bet because it is one of the most stable, high-paying, and great careers for women. So I finished my university honors degree in the United States and took on a couple of jobs in New York, Hong Kong, and Lima, only to discover that my true passion did not lay there.
Not long after, despite skeptical looks and discouraging comments (“why switch your career now? you’re going to start from zero”; “you’re good at numbers, you should stay in finance”), I made a bold move filled with uncertainty to ensure that I could say I chose my life and did not settle for it. I headed to Spain for a masters degree in Business Analytics and Big Data. Sleepless weekend nights of hackathons, months of intense venture acceleration lab to bring a travel-tech idea to market, etc., all so I could earn myself a full-time spot in the tech space in a new, foreign country. Currently, I am working as Strategy Consultant in Globant’s newly-created Studio, Digital Sales.
This career-changing journey, topped with companies’ hesitation to sponsor work visas, was not always easy and smooth, but I am forever thankful for where I am now and the people (women and men) who supported me along the way. That is why I hope to inspire and encourage more women to enter the tech space and to share their unique stories, by sharing my example at ad-hoc talks and conferences, by teaching Big Data and tech management courses, by mentoring female students, aspiring coders and tech leaders, at IE Business School and at a high school. With all of this, I hope that, one day, girls will stop asking for social permission to make their dreams come true. I might be just one individual, but together with all of the other women, I believe we can spark something bigger and really make a difference. “Here’s to strong women. May we know them. May we be them. May we raise them.” and (allow me to add) May we all support one another.
If you liked my story, you can support me by voting for me here: Thanks!
Teena Sharma
After graduating with a masters in science, I learned that lacking a few criteria in my academics was going to be a big mountain to climb in my professional technology career. The next few years were spent giving hundreds of interviews for technical roles and not having much luck. Having been rejected multiple times, I only wished that someday I would be in a position to be a catalyst in the job search of candidates in technology roles. To achieve financial freedom, I pivoted and started my professional journey in the Human Resource field.
I have recently completed my 1 year work anniversary at Globant and with all my experience, I can say this is the best experience I have had at any organization. Putting heart and soul into the work I love most, here at Globant I received equal recognition for the efforts I was putting into different parts of recruitment activities. For this, I am especially thankful to my mentors who guided me through every phase. By being nominated, I am having a greater sense of gratitude than ever before. This nomination is of utmost importance to me and it will further enhance my devotion to the work I am involved in.
How many of us join an organization and within one year get nominated for an award such as this? Being nominated for the award at Globant confirms that Globant is the organization where if you put your efforts in the correct direction and achieve your professional milestone, your efforts will be recognized. Even if you are new, if you are consistent in your efforts, it will not go unnoticed.
I hope whoever reads this story can relate to the professional journey I am having at Globant and how wonderful the organization is taking care of all of us. If we have ever crossed paths or have been working on resourcing together, I hope I matched your expectations and we contributed together to the task at hand.
To support my nomination you can vote here.
These four candidates are some of the many that have been nominated for the award. Check out all the amazing candidates and vote!
