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My TechWomen Experience, Fall 2022

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My TechWomen Experience, Fall 2022

Day 1; Welcome to TechWomen!

Tobi Otokiti
Oct 15, 2022
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After a 20+ hours journey from Nigeria, I arrived at San Francisco airport on Sept 22nd, 2022.

Tobi en route San Francisco...

She was beside the luggage pickup, Amber, a program coordinator at TechWomen. With a broad smile, she asked, are you Tobi? And with a welcoming hug and selfies to capture the moments, she welcomed me to the United States of America.

It was at that instant I knew my TechWomen journey had officially begun.

I came out of the airport, lifted my head high with a grateful heart and smiled to the heavens.

We booked an uber to my new home, Mountain view, the very heart of Silicon Valley. And on my way, I was mesmerised by the sophisticated and beautifully architectured technology buildings, the many Tesla cars en route my way, the wide road network and the scenery while enjoying Amber’s career journey story.

Thirty minutes later, we arrived at my beautiful new residence for the next four weeks.

Tobi, Amber; Program coordinator_TechWomen, Shakhnoza

Amber handed me a welcome kit, a folder containing a printed copy of the program schedule, a house key card, train cards for mobility, a prepaid card for daily spending, nose masks and a Covid test kit.

Welcome orientation and meeting 100+ emerging leaders in one room.

On the evening of my arrival was the welcome orientation program for all 100+ emerging leaders from 21 countries. Synopsis hosted us at the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub.

The welcome orientation covered all the need-to-know information for our time in the Bay Area, safety and emergency procedures, phone plans, public transit, healthcare access, and per diem stipends.

Emerging leaders Fall 2022

And as the sun set, we were hosted to a beautiful dinner, a buffet. And while we munched our food, everyone giggled with excitement at different corners, taking pictures and enjoying the ocean views.

It was such a beautiful evening connecting with emerging leaders and our hosts, the TechWomen team.

Zaria (Communication and impact analyst, TechWomen) & Tobi

Thank you, Casey Bulen, Amber, Angela, Stephanie, and Zaria, for a well-put-together first day of my TechWomen experience. It was indeed memorable.

#techwomen22 #techwomen #techwomen10 #Nigeria

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2 Comments
Wamide A
Writes Notes To Self
Oct 15, 2022

Whoosh. Absolutely inspiring, Tobi. I’m so looking forward to the rest of your TechWomen story.

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Gracie
Oct 15, 2022

Super duper proud of you my beautiful sis, friend and yard sister ❤️ 💙

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