Obehi Oribhabor is an Inside Sales Representative at Adobe. She shares her passion for working in the tech industry and how Black History Month for her includes celebrating the progress of blacks thriving in this era.
What are some of the highlights of your career in the tech industry?
I didn’t think I’d get into tech as I didn’t have a relevant background and when I did I was initially very nervous. My career highlight was how I learned on the job and realised that I can actually do this. Even though you pass the interview, you still need to feel that you can do the job. By networking with other people like myself, learning with them, I saw that I can really do this and that gave me more confidence.
What Does Black History Month Mean to you?
It means celebrating the progress of blacks thriving in this era, especially judging from where we used to be to where we are now. We have this rich history that we can’t control but we’ve been able to evolve and influence aspects of the modern world very successfully.
What are the lessons from black history that have shaped how you live your life / influence your choices?
Thinking about where we are now gives me resilience to move forward. Working in tech has been a big deal for me, my friends from Africa often ask me how I did it. I tell them it’s about using your brain and not focusing on where we used to be, focus on the now as we are doing well, we are making history as we speak. For me it really is about also looking to the future. One major lesson for me is to keep striving for the best, seeing no limits or barriers as threats to attaining great heights.
How will I personally pay tribute to black history month?
By participating in activities that brings blacks into the limelight, paying tribute by taking time out to do interviews such as this.I believe in paying it forward, I already spend time educating people from my home country Nigeria, who want to migrate to the UK, on how they can do this, how they can work hard and succeed in tech, as I have done. I love to positively influence fellow blacks like me to work hard and be resilient, believing that everything is possible and attainable.