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Career

Attend a conference on diversity in technology.

Stereotyping comes in many forms: ethnic, socioeconomic, gender, generational, racial, etc. What are some ways your choices could challenge stereotypes and break down barriers for yourself and others?

Challenge stereotypes!

Get a jump start on what you want do in college or test your interest before you get there by taking a class in computer programming! What are you most looking forward to learning about?

Education

Take a class in computer programming.

Computer Programmers

Create, modify, and test the code, forms, and script that allow computer applications to run. Work from specifications drawn up by software developers or other individuals. May assist software developers by analyzing user needs and designing software solutions. May develop and write computer programs to store, locate, and retrieve specific documents, data, and information.

Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.

Investigative

Second Interest High-Point

Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.

Conventional

Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.

Realistic

Artistic occupations frequently involve working with forms, designs and patterns. They often require self-expression and the work can be done without following a clear set of rules.

Artistic

Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.

Social

Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.

Enterprising

First Interest High-Point

Third Interest High-Point

Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed

Software Developers and Programmers

Computer and Mathematical Occupations

Computer Occupations

Correct errors by making appropriate changes and rechecking the program to ensure that the desired results are produced.

Conduct trial runs of programs and software applications to be sure they will produce the desired information and that the instructions are correct.

Compile and write documentation of program development and subsequent revisions, inserting comments in the coded instructions so others can understand the program.

Write, update, and maintain computer programs or software packages to handle specific jobs such as tracking inventory, storing or retrieving data, or controlling other equipment.

Consult with managerial, engineering, and technical personnel to clarify program intent, identify problems, and suggest changes.

Perform or direct revision, repair, or expansion of existing programs to increase operating efficiency or adapt to new requirements.

Write, analyze, review, and rewrite programs, using workflow chart and diagram, and applying knowledge of computer capabilities, subject matter, and symbolic logic.

Write or contribute to instructions or manuals to guide end users.

Investigate whether networks, workstations, the central processing unit of the system, or peripheral equipment are responding to a program's instructions.

Prepare detailed workflow charts and diagrams that describe input, output, and logical operation, and convert them into a series of instructions coded in a computer language.

Perform systems analysis and programming tasks to maintain and control the use of computer systems software as a systems programmer.

Consult with and assist computer operators or system analysts to define and resolve problems in running computer programs.

Assign, coordinate, and review work and activities of programming personnel.

Collaborate with computer manufacturers and other users to develop new programming methods.

Train subordinates in programming and program coding.

Train users on the use and function of computer programs.

Computer servers

Desktop computers

Mainframe computers

Mainframe operating systems

Serial port cards

A programming language APL

ABC Compiler

ABC: the AspectBench Compiler for AspectJ

Adobe Systems Adobe Acrobat

Adobe Systems Adobe ActionScript

Adobe Systems Adobe ColdFusion

Adobe Systems Adobe Dreamweaver

Adobe Systems Adobe Fireworks

Adobe Systems Adobe Flash

Adobe Systems Adobe Flex

Adobe Systems Adobe Illustrator

Adobe Systems Adobe Photoshop

Adobe Systems Adobe PostScript

Advanced business application programming ABAP

AJAX

Algorithmic language ALGOL

Amazon Kinesis

American National Standards Institute ANSI C

Ansible software

Apache Ant

Apache Cassandra

Apache Groovy

Apache Hadoop

Apache Hive

Apache HTTP Server

Apache Kafka

Apache Maven

Apache Pig

Apache Solr

Apache Spark

Apache Struts

Apache Subversion SVN

Apache Tomcat

Assembler

Atlassian Bamboo

Atlassian JIRA

AWS Redshift

B-Method

Backbone.js

Bash

Basis BBx VisualPRO/5

Beginner's all-purpose symbolic instruction code BASIC

Bentley MicroStation

Bigloo Scheme

Bourne Shell

CA Erwin Data Modeler

Call-processing language CPL

Cascading Style Sheets CSS

CAST SQL Builder

Chef

Citrix

Clipper

Code generator software

Code munger software

CoffeeCup The HTML Editor

Collaborative Application Markup Language CAML

Command interpreters

Common business oriented language COBOL

Common Lisp Object System CLOS

Compilers

Computer aided design and drafting CADD software

Computer Associates integrated data management system CA-IDMS

Computer On-line Real-time Applications Language CORAL 66

Confluence

Corel CorelDraw Graphics Suite

Customer information control system CICS

Dassault Systemes CATIA

Data definition language DDL

Data entry software

Data manipulation language DML

dBASE Plus

Debugging software

Decompilers

Delphi Technology

Django

Docker

Drupal

Dynamic hypertext markup language DHTML

E++ pattern language

Eclipse IDE

Eiffel

Elasticsearch

Embarcadero Delphi

Emerald Software Group Emerald Green Office

Enterprise JavaBeans

Epic Systems

ESRI ArcGIS software

Event-driven State-machines Programming

Ext JS

Extensible HyperText Markup Language XHTML

Owner

(female narrator #1) Everywhere you turn people try to tell you who to be and what to do. But what about deciding for yourself? Roadtrip Nation is a Movement that empowers people to define their own Roads in life. This past summer, teams of Roadtrippers crossed the country, hoping to gain insight into their lives. On the Road, they met all kinds of interesting people to learn how they found their way. This is Roadtrip Nation. Jason (filmer): So, what actually happened, Hannah? What actually happened to the RV? Jason (filmer): Yeah just kinda recounting what happened. So, we had lunch, drove off. Really nice ladies, we pulled up next to them. I waved my last wave to someone in Monaco. Got onto the freeway, smelled a burning smell, and we were wondering what that was coming from. And we were close to the exit, weren't we? We were about two exits away from the RV place. Two exits away. So, we slowed down. We were gonna pull off. And then all of a sudden-- [honking] Stop! Get the (...) outta the RV now! [shouting] [clanking] (male #1) Everybody! I want everybody to go that way! Oh my (...). [traffic] Get somebody out here now! [fire truck sirens] That was such a horrible thing to watch. But, we definitely had some angels with us. The ex-firefighter who pulled us off the road, Barbara from Albuquerque, thank you! [laughing] She took the shoes off her feet and gave them to Nika before she left because Nika didn't have any shoes. [rumbling engine] Hopefully, we can salvage any of our belongings, find Hannah's necklace. [cracking] Seeing it all kind of go at one time is hard to stomach. My laptop, my camera, my guitar. [sniffing] No! I found it. (Antoine) Is it okay? 00:02:09,010 --> 00:02:14,057 Oh man, I just found my license, found my Haverford I.D. I'm shaking! [laughing] I found my Ralph's Reward Card. [laughing] Oh, (...), sorry. Oh my (...). The RV basically burned down by the time they actually put it out. Once that happened, the first thoughts that start rolling through my brain is: the trip is over. And that's like -- I think, for the first time in my life, it started showing me what was important. I wasn't worried about my stuff. I was worried about finishing. They told us on the phone there was an RV that was going to be on its way. It was just cool that there was that opportunity. (Antoine) Once we found out that we were gonna have the opportunity to continue, the only thing on my mind was, alright! Let's do it! (Hannah) I can't really fight the emotions that we're going through and the shock. But deep in my gut, I knew that we would continue. (Nika) There were still so many more Leaders that we wanted to meet with that I was not going to stop because of not having clothing, or what I thought at the time were essentials. [exhale] Are you ready to do this? [exhale] Yeah. Alright, let's do this. [laughing] (Antoine) Yo! (Ray) Yeah! [laughing] What's going on, dude? How's it going? Good! [laughing] Aw! Whoa! [laughing] (Nika) Oh, man! This is pretty spiffy. I love how there's a blue couch-- There's a TV! The seats are definitely a lot more comfy. Big man friendly. It's crazy. (Antoine) I just wanna buy, at least, a T-shirt, so I have something else to change into. (Nika) Yeah. Be assured that this moment is not a coincidence -- (Carolyn) You are supposed to be here, like I was. Embrace the highs, (together) lows, and all the in-betweens. (Hannah) Because it'll be fun. Lots of fun, but challenging, too. And in the most unexpected ways. Did she know that our RV was gonna burn down? [laughing] And that I would sit here and read it? [laughing] That's crazy. ♪ music ♪ ♪ music ♪ (Hannah) Peace out, Albuquerque! ♪ music ♪ ♪ music ♪ Leaders have said, over and over again, it's not the obstacle itself, it's what you do to overcome it that shows who you are. We've got three pairs of clothing, a couple underwears, and we're still trucking along. (Hannah) Hopefully, we come out of this stronger and learn more wisdom than just from our Leaders, but life wisdom. ♪ music ♪ ♪ music ♪ (Hannah) Although is was hard to lose all those things, not just the possessions, but the history, I'm alive, and there's more history to be made. ♪ music ♪ ♪ music ♪ (Nika) I'm really excited to be interviewing people again. I definitely feel like we've been on a long hiatus. But, we're back on our goal. We're back in motion. We're back to doing what Roadtrip's all about. (All) Hello! Hi! Nika. Rossin. Hannah. Great to meet you. Antoine. Nice to meet you. Come on in. ♪ music ♪ Amazing. [laughter] ♪ music ♪ At what point in your life were you able to answer that question of who you are, what you want? In a way, it was easy for me, because I knew it from day one. I was born in Bulgaria, during the communist time. And, when I was 6 years old, my brother was born. His nanny was an amateur painter. So, I saw her painting. I was interested in this. I saw the books, and I said, that's exactly what I want. And I do nothing else but exactly this, being in one of the rooms in my home, painting. That's it. We had access to the great traditions of arts, of the Renaissance masters and their writing. So, I absorbed as much as I could during this time. And, I guess I was lucky, because exactly two years before finishing college, the Iron Curtain collapsed, communism was gone, and we were free to go. How wonderful to have energy inside of us and hunger for more. Hunger for something different, hunger to explore the world. There you go. You are free to go. We didn't necessarily know how actually complicated the world is and how scary it is. But, not knowing everything is a good thing. Because, that gives you courage. And, you need that courage. Fear is the worst possible feeling. Fear is the last thing you want. I've learned that the world is a wonderful place having wonderful, different people with different cultures, which look different on the surface. Actually, deep inside, we're all the same. This is Jeannette, a lady from Rwanda, a genocide survivor from the mid-90s. Just a wonderful human being. She lost all of her relatives, she was beaten and left for dead. And she hid among the bodies for three days. Can you imagine what she went through?  And, right now, she works at a coffee farm and she adopted five children. Just a wonderful human being. For obvious reasons, she's very interesting for me, not because of her wonderful, physical beauty, but the beauty of her soul. So, having being able to achieve your dream of a successful artist, having a family, are you happy? Happy's a dangerous word. [laughing] Really dangerous. If I tell myself, yes, you're happy. You got it all. You're totally successful. First of all, you don't got it all. I have so much more in my head that bothers me, as we speak. So, I can't wait to continue with my work after you guys, first of all. So, I'm constantly dissatisfied. But that's the price you pay in order to go further and further. My biggest challenge is to reinvent myself and come up with something new. Humans are very, very, very tough creatures. People give up too quickly. The question is, not to break. If I have to be realistic, quote, unquote, about life and about what's coming next, what's coming next year or two years from now, I should be scared. How could I know those will sell? No, there is nothing certain. Even today, there is nothing certain. Nobody's certain. (Hannah) So, how do you circumvent that fear or those uncertainties and just continue to push forward with your work? One word, love. Leo Tolstoy, arguably the greatest writer of all times, says in War and Peace, "Everything that I know, I know because I love." So, when you put love in the equation, you realize you're extremely powerful. You couldn't care less about the negative, possible aspects of everything you do. When you're in love, you don't care if you're gonna die tomorrow. I'm in love. So, you are in touch with eternity. It sounds a little bit evasive, it sounds a little bit strange maybe to you. But, later in life, you realize that. If nothing else, from this meeting, please remember the word 'love'. It is essentially important. Look for it, seriously. Nothing else really matters. [laughing] (Hannah) When you think about the people in your life you love and how you would do anything for them, like your parents, your significant others, siblings, you think about that in terms of love. And, you put that in terms of your life and what you wanna do. I love helping people, so what are you gonna do to do that? (Ross Rossin) Know who you are. Know what you want. And love. (Antoine) Awesome. Thank you guys, you're the best. Thank you. Bye bye! Thanks for everything. Bye! ♪ music ♪ We're going to The Vortex - is that what it's called? We're going to The Vortex to have a burger challenge. Man versus food. Woo! Alright, guys. Let's do this. Super Stack Heart Attack Burger. Two-and-a-half pounds sirloin patties, stacked inside three grilled cheese sandwiches, topped with two fried eggs, eights slices of American cheese, 10 slices of bacon, with plenty of mayo on the side. ♪ music ♪ Totally doable. (Hannah) Antoine didn't finish eating his burger, cheeseburger burger. But, I still think he's a winner. Look at that winner. ♪ music ♪ (Hannah) Chicago, here we come. ♪ music ♪ (Antoine) Why's it smell like rotten cheese? (Nika) 'Cause it's Chicago! (Antoine) Oh my (...)! Look at this place! (Hannah) We're going to talk to Alana Ward Robinson. It's Alana? I thought it was Alena. (Hannah) I know that she's a consultant. (Nika) With a computer science/mathematics degree. I liked her because she is in a major that not a lot of African-Americans are in. I found out about her from Google. (Hannah) Did you type in: "woman", "Chicago" -- (Nika) Black. [laughing] I'm Alana Robinson. Nika. Antoine. Hannah. Good to meet you. Good to meet you, too. ♪ music ♪ (Nika) I was in Haverford College. It was my third year, so I had one more year left. I felt like I was really unhappy there, and I didn't wanna sacrifice my happiness because I knew I wouldn't be driven to do well. I knew I wouldn't excel at that institution, so I recently had decided to leave that school and apply to a different school for acting. So, I'm just trying to reconcile my own happiness with wanting to still make my mom proud. Where were you when you were out of college or in college and trying to make a choice with where you wanted to go with the rest of your life? I would actually have to rewind and go all the way back to high school. I grew up in South Louisiana, about 30 miles from the Gulf of Mexico. So, I grew up in very segregated America. A very clear delineation about where we could and could not go. And, in my junior year of high school, the state of Louisiana passed a law where we had freedom of choice. That was the name of the program. So, we could go to school across the tracks. So, five of my friends and I decided to take that leap. And we went to school for the first time in a majority environment, rather than in the segregated schools that we grew up in. So, in that environment, I got exposed to a broader curriculum. That's when I took my first Fortran programming class. I liked programming. It was my first exposure to computers. This was in 1968. So that's what I majored in. A double major between computer science and applied mathematics. When I called to tell my dad that I had a job at IBM, my dad was shocked. Nobody in my family ever worked in Corporate America, so that was a foreign concept. And, especially during then, I wore a huge Angela Davis afro. He just couldn't believe I got a job with my hair looking like that. [laughing] That was in 1972. So we fast forward 38 years, and my world is still centered around a computer. I have been a programmer, I have been an instructor. In a later year in my career, I was an IT executive in a variety of companies. So, I've stayed with that same passion, which I found in high school. Did you ever feel at any point that you weren't making the right decision when you were choosing that career path going to school? Well, yeah, I did. What I haven't talked about is when I started working with IBM, in Shreveport, Louisiana, they had never had a woman of any color in a programming job. Okay, the only women that ever worked in that office in Shreveport were secretaries. And there had never been a black female in any position in the office in the history of the existence of that office. And so, there were accounts I couldn't be a programmer in, because they didn't allow black people to come into their environment. The people that I worked for at IBM carefully picked which accounts I worked with and which places within the geography I could go to. Did you ever get discouraged to the point that you questioned whether or not this is an industry you should be in? Because ,being the first woman, the first woman of any color and having these limitations put on you in this profession, did that work against you in making you have a low self-confidence? No. Because, again, I grew up in segregated America. Being the first, or being the only one really wasn't an issue for me. It was more of an issue for the people around me than for me. Remember when I went to school across the tracks, that freedom of choice, that first year I rode the school bus from where I lived across the tracks to Jennings High School. Well, every morning I went to school on that crowded bus, I always had a seat to myself. Okay, 'cause nobody sat with me. But I wasn't gonna let that deprive me of all this new access that I had. Okay? I focused more on the new access I had and I also celebrated the fact that I had a full seat to myself everyday. [laughing] Okay, as oppose to wallow into the reality of nobody would sit with me, even on a crowded bus. So, I've always had a tendency to think the glass was half full, as opposed to half empty. Because, being isolated or being the only one or being the first is really just a factoid of American society. It doesn't have to be a limiting factor. It's just a real factor. And my dad always believed you can't let other people put limits on your life. And he believed that, and he practiced that, and he instilled that in us. That's something I can definitely relate to with my parents. Because, they've never played the card like, you absolutely need a degree. I guess all that freedom kinda backfired, because I can't make decisions. I'm so bad at it. I'm so indecisive about everything. And, see, I'm probably just the opposite. Once I decide something, and again, I decide, and then I do it, and then I figure out was it a good or a bad thing. [laughter] And then, if it was a bad thing, I figure out what did I learn from it. And, again, some things work and some things don't. But, you're gonna have more goals. And, you just keep going. I think I'm definitely learning that now. It's just learning to trust yourself. And don't feel bad 'cause you make a bad decision. Just keep going, because you're not clairvoyant. And, you make a move, and you don't know if it's gonna work out or not. Most definitely. You do need a degree. [laughing] Let me look in your eyes. You do need a degree. I feel like, being an African-American woman, there's a lot of pressure, not only from my family, but to living up to the expectations of the ancestors that walked before me, and other strong, black women that paved the way for me to be where I am today. I know, with you, being in these situations, where you were the only black woman or you were the only woman, did you ever feel that pressure? Because, I know for me, it would serve maybe as something that would make me rethink what I was doing and why I was doing it. But you're gonna always be black. Right? You're gonna always be black. Unless you do the Michael Jackson thing. [laughter] So, that's just a reality of who you are, and you gotta build a career and a life around the reality that you are a black female. That is not a bad thing. You're a beautiful, black woman. And, you can still have a life and a career regardless of there being people out there who don't care to associate with beautiful, black women. You'll always be black. So what. [door clank] So, this is what you guys go across the country in? [laughter] Yeah. This is us. [laughter] (Nika) I definitely took it to heart, because my dream is to get a degree, but for it to be in something I wanna do from an institution that I love. It was good to hear from someone else who wasn't my mother, with the same urgency, though, as my mother. (Alana Ward Robinson) No limits. No limits. No limits. Just get that degree. [laughter] I will. Because that's a limit. [laughter] (Antoine) It's almost a crime to other people if you don't accomplish something If you're not trying to do something pure with your life, then you're just going through the motions. And it just goes full circle with the whole wanting to change myself and being selfish. I was thinking about when the fire happened we all lost our stuff. It wasn't as bad as I thought it was gonna be. It's just clothes. It's materialistic stuff.  That's not the stuff I wanna care about.  I think the thing I'm looking for now is the connections I can make with people. It's the most meaningful thing you can ever obtain in life. And those are the things I wanna rack up and accumulate. Thanks for the encouragement. No limits. I will email you with that degree. You better. I'll come looking for you. [laughing] Thank you guys. Bye bye, guys. ♪ music ♪ (Hannah) We started our Roadtrip four weeks ago. (Antoine) It was just hurtle after hurtle. The gears are messed up. Hopefully we can solve this problem quickly. (Hannah) I have this big goal in mind. So many times when you just have your eye on that, you forget that it's a process to get there. One of the line cooks didn't show up at work. They threw an apron at me, and they said, you can cook now. Get in the kitchen. There's not assuredness for everybody to do everything that they want. But a lot of that I gotta put on the individual. Are you sure you want that thing bad enough? (female narrator #1) Roadtrip Nation extends beyond the program you just watched. It's a Movement that includes students creating their own local Roadtrip Experiences. Here's a snapshot of Roadtrip Nation in the classroom. When I heard about Roadtrip Nation, I thought it was the most awesome idea. You get to interview people, put it on tape, and others get to see it. And, hopefully it'll help them figure out what they wanna do. It's been so much fun. I decided to interview Mr. Andrew Caddo, because he is a representative of the Art Institute. My grandmother, at first, she was like, "You're gonna be an artist.  Do it. I know you can." When it got around to sixth and seventh grade, and my grades were slipping a little, and she started to doubt me and say, "Well you're gonna have to get serious and forget "about your drawing, and try to do something else. Something a little more real." Did anyone ever tell you, you couldn't do something? Never. I've always had people around me who always told me to eliminate the word "can't" in my vocabulary. And it worked. So, there's lots of opportunities out there, and my encouragement for you would be to follow your dream. Don't let anyone stop you, and just go for it. His confidence about this whole situation was really inspiring. I said, I need a little more self-confidence, and he went and did it, so I think, why can't I? (female narrator #1) To watch more interviews from the Road, and to listen to the music that keeps us driving, visit roadtripnation.com. Online, you can learn more about the Movement and how to bring the Experience into your classroom. ♪ music ♪ 

The Roadtrippers are in Albuquerque, N.M., salvaging what they can from their burnt Green RV-the aftermath of a mechanical fire that caused the vehicle to burn down. After they decide that they want to continue their Roadtrip, a few of the Roadtrip Nation staff arrive and they're given a new Green RV named "Norm." Moving onward to Atlanta, Ga., they speak with notable portrait artist Ross R. Rossin. Next, in Chicago, Ill., they meet with entrepreneur and famed business executive Alana Ward Robinson. The Roadtrippers hear her story of struggle as an African-American female trying to make it in the burgeoning (and mainly white male) tech industry. 

Albuquerque - Atlanta

I grew up South Louisiana about 30 miles from the gulf of Mexico. So I grew up in very segregated America. They cleared alienation about where we could and could not go. And in my junior year of highschool the state of Louisiana passed a law where we had freedom of choice, that was the name of the program, so we could go to school across the tracks. And so five of my friends and I decided to take that leap, and we went to school for the first time. And a majority environment rather than in the segregated schools that we grew up in. And so, in that environment I got exposed to a broader curriculum. That's when I took my first Fortan programming class. I liked programming it was my first exposure to computers. This was in 1968. So that's what I majored in. A double major between in Computer Science and Applied Mathematics. When I called to tell my dad that I had a job in IBM. My dad was shocked. Nobody in my family ever worked in corporate America. So that was a foreign concept and especially during that I wore huge Angela Davis afro. He just couldn't believe I got a job with my hair looking like that. >> [LAUGH]. >> That was in 1972. So you fast forward 38 years, and my world is still centered around a computer. I have been a programmer. I have been an instructor. Later here in my career I was an IT executive in a variety of companies. And so, I've stayed with that same passion, which I found in high school. >> Did you ever feel at any point that you are making the right decision when you're choosing that career path, going to school? >> Oh, yeah I did. You know, what I haven't talked about is, when I started working with IBM in Shreveport, Louisiana, they had never had a woman of any color. And a programming job. Okay? The only women that ever worked in that office in Shreveport were secretaries. And there had never been a black female in any position in the office in the history of the existence of that office. And so they were accounts I couldn't be a programmer in because they didn't allow black people to come into their environment. The people I worked for at IBM carefully picked which accounts I worked with and which places within the geography I could go to. >> Did you ever get discouraged to the point that you kind of question whether or not, this is an industry that you should be in because being the first woman, the first woman in a color and having these limitations put on you in this profession? Did that kinda work against you and making you feel like have a loads of confidence or? >> Because again, I grew up in segregated America. Being the first of being the only one really wasn't the issue for me it's just, it was more of a issue for the people around me than for me. Remember, when I went to school across the tracks, that freedom of choice, that first year I rode the school bus from where I lived across the tracks over to Janus High School. Well, every morning I went to school on that crowded bus. I always had a seat to myself. Okay. Because nobody sat with me. But I wasn't gonna let that deprive me of all this new access that I had. Okay. I focused more on the new access I had rather than, and I also celebrated the fact that I had a full seat to myself every day. Okay [LAUGH] as supposed to wallow into the reality of nobody would sit with me even on a crowded bus. So, I've always had a tendency to think the glasses half full and as suppose to half empty because being isolated or being the only one or being the first is really just a factoid of American society. It doesn't have to be a limiting factor. It's just a real factor. And my dad always believed you can't let other people put limits on your life. And he believed that and he practised that and he instilled that in us. >> That's something I can definitely relate to with my parents because they've never played the card like you absolutely need a degree. I guess all that freedom, kinda at least in my mind, backfired. Because I can't make decisions. I'm so bad at it. Like, I'm so indecisive about everything. >> And see I'm probably just about the opposite. Once I decide something And again I decide and I do it and then I figure out was it a good or a bad thing. And then if it was a bad thing I figure out what did I learn from it. And again some things work and some things don't but then you'll have more goals and you just keep going. >> I think I'm definitely learning that now, this is learning to trust yourself. >> And don't feel bad cuz you make a bad decision just keep going. Because you're not clairvoyant and you make a move and you don't know if it's gonna work out or not. >> Most definitely. >> You do need a degree. >> [LAUGH] >> Let me look in your eyes. You do need a degree. >> [LAUGH] >> I feel like being an African-American woman there's a lot of pressure, not only from my family but living up to expectations of ancestors that walked before me and other strong black women that paved the way for me to be where I am today. And I know with you being in these situations where you were the only black women. Or you were the only woman. Did you ever feel that pressure? Because I know for me it was sort of, maybe something that would make me rethink what I was doing and why I was doing it. >> But you gonna always be black. Right? You're gonna always be black unless you do the Michael Jackson thing. So that's just the reality of who you are. And you gotta build a career and a life around the reality that you are a black female. That is not a bad thing you're a beautiful black woman. And you can still have a life and a career regardless of their being people out there who don't care to associate with beautiful black women. You'll always be black. So what? 

Interview

My best classes in high school were the math and chemistry. Anything that was concrete, not necessarily creative or abstract. I'm far more of a left brain than I am right brain, and so I recognize that very early on. And so I liked programming it was my first exposure to computers. This was in 1968. My first exposure to computers and so when I went back to high school for my senior year, I was just adamant and looking for a college where I could major in Computer Science. I got a full scholarship during my senior year to go to Grambling State University, and fortunately that was the first year at Grambling State University that they offered a Computer Science degree. And it happened to be a double major between Computer Science and Applied Mathematics. So that's what I majored in. 

Left Side of the Brain

Neither one of my boys are doing what they went to school for, okay? So I could have had views about what they should be when they grow up but that's not what they chose to do. But yet, they're still successful. So you have to decide, even when you get a degree, what you get a degree in might not be what you wanna have a career in. >> That's what I'm scared of, I'm like I'm gonna be stuck in this like. >> No, no you don't have to be, you need a degree. You need a degree in xyz, you need a degree. And then you need to build a career and most people if you look around at the people around you. Most of the people you've been around that you've interviewed, they found a passion and they've learned to make money with that. And they've created tenure with whatever that is, whether it's to be a dancer, whether it's to be a singer, whether it's to dig ditch. It doesn't matter what it is, if that's what you really like to do. Then you can build a career around that, you just need the passport of a degree. So there's no point in starting all over. Wherever you are, if you're three quarters of the way done, go that other quarter and get it done and be done with that. And it doesn't still have to limit you. 

Passion

Passport of a Degree

Would you say that you're at a place in your life where you can say that you're happy? >> Yeah, I'm happy, but it doesn't mean that I don't want more things, that I don't want to do different things. I want to add to my bucket list. I have a bucket list, so there are still more things I'd like to do. [LAUGH] >> That I haven't done. It doesn't mean that I'm greedy, or it doesn't mean that I'm not grateful for what I have had. But to me when you're stop wanting, and you stop aspiring, and your list is empty, then I'm not really sure why you breathe. 

Desire

Goals

Always Aspire

I worked on a staff where, when I went to Dallas, I worked on a team where there were 11 white males and me. And, again I was making more money than I ever made before, so I don't know that I should be have more. And so we were on a trip one time and they were talking about what they made and I thought. God, I don't make that much [LAUGH] and so, I don't make near as much as they do. But I had the same responsibilities that they do. And so, I went to my boss and I explained that to him. And he says, you make enough, that wasn't the right answer. I wasn't in a position, I was shy about asking for a raise. I hadn't gotten to that point in my career where I was confident to ask for a raise. And it wasn't that I needed the money, but it was I needed to be equal, cuz we were all doing the same work, right? And so he fought and fought it and then, fortunately, a previous boss that I had, I talked to her about it. And through her connections, she got me an interview with his boss and then we talked about that. And within a week, I got a 17% raise. >> Wow. >> And so it wasn't like I was underpaid, it wasn't like I knew I was underpaid. Or that I was couldn't pay a bill because I didn't have the money but it was just being equitable. 

Courage

Money & Financial Security

Need To Be Equal

I grew up in segregated America. But being the first or being the only one really wasn't an issue for me. It was just more of an issue for the people around me than for me. I just assumed, that, you know, I'm the only one. That first year I rode the school bus I always had a seat to myself...okay? 'Cause nobody sat with me. Um, but I wasn't gonna let that deprive me of all this new access that I had. So I've always had a tendency to think the glass is half full as opposed to half empty. Because being isolated or being the only one or being the first is really just a factoid of American society. It's not a, it doesn't have to be a limiting factor, it's just a real factor. 

Alana Ward Robinson Highlight

I grew up in south Louisiana, about 30 miles from the Gulf of Mexico. So I grew up in very segregated America, a very clear delineation about where we could and could not go. And in my junior year of high school, the state of Louisiana passed a law where we had freedom of choice. That was the name of the program. So we could go to school across the tracks. So five of my friends and I decided to take that leap, and we went to school for the first time in a majority environment, rather than in the segregated schools that we grew up in. And so, in that environment, I got exposed to a broader curriculum. That's when I took my first Fortran programming class. I liked programming, it was my first exposure to computers. This was in 1968. So that's what I majored in. A double major between computer science and applied mathematics. When I called to tell my dad that I had a job at IBM, my dad was shocked. Nobody in my family ever worked in corporate America. So that was a foreign concept, and especially then I wore huge Angela Davis afro. He just couldn't believe I got the job with my hair looking like that, so. >> [LAUGH] >> That was in 1972, so you fast forward 38 years and my world is still centered around a computer. 

Experience

Opportunity

Success

Talent

Seizing Opportunity

Being the first or being the only one really wasn't a issue for me. It was more of a issue for the people around me than for me. I remember when I went to school across the tracks at Freedom of Choice. That first year, I rode the school bus from where I lived across the tracks over to Jennings High School. Well, every morning I went to school on that crowded bus, I always had a seat to myself. Okay, cuz nobody sat with me. But I wasn't gonna let that deprive me of all this new access that I had, okay? I focused more on the new access I had, and I also celebrated the fact that I had a full seat to myself every day. [LAUGH] Okay, as opposed to wallow into the reality of nobody would sit with me, even on a crowded bus. So, I've always had a tendency to think the glass is half-full as opposed to half-empty because being isolated or being the only one or being the first is really just a factoid of American society. It doesn't have to be a limiting factor. It's just a real factor. 

Alana Ward Robinson

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Alana Ward Robinson

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