Written December, 2016

Life is full of myths, experiences and perspectives. To some, it is the survival of the fittest; to others, it is a complicated world, but to me, it is a race full of uptime and downtime. But, the good news is, you can increase your uptime, and minimize your downtime by making a demand on the universe. Greatness can be found in our genetics: It is who we are. And, in the word of Shakespeare: Be not afraid of greatness: some are born great; some achieve greatness, while others have greatness thrust upon them.’ These words have found expression in my career as I launched out early in life to achieve greatness. The journey that started over seven years ago when I secured admission to a University in Nigeria could only get more exciting as I sail through the boat of life.

My name is Joan Ofulue, a visionary, ambitious, and driven young woman. At the onset of my life, I developed passion in academics and became inquisitive about global marketplace. Per adventure, my thirst for knowledge might have been inherited from my father who had been a Professor for longer years before I was born. I completed my undergraduate degree in Economics at age 19 with distinction. It was a period of self-sacrifice and hard work yet, I refused to be consumed purely in academics, but delved into other campus social activities. My passion for service leadership propelled me to contest and won the election as the first female departmental president in the Dept. of Economics. It was indeed a moment of celebration and landmark achievement for all women on campus! That was the beginning of another journey.

During my time as the association president, notable achievements were recorded: I launched the departmental magazine where all Economics students and staff could easily access information within the department, and by extension, the university. I engaged in various fund raising events to sponsor the humanitarian courses, while creating an environment for social interaction among students. Soon, my time at the University was over ushered in the beginning of another chapter; the journey to serve my country had just begun through a year of mandatory but selfless service.

My time at the Nigeria’s popular National youth service Corps (NYSC) (a.k.a. co-op) was filled with a different learning experience. It was a time to offer my knowledge for experience. At least, that was the motive of the program; A time to meet other Nigerians from different states across the 36 states of Nigeria. While the atmosphere presents moment of fun and social gathering, I quickly realized that a woman of destiny cannot be carried away by the pressing moments of now. I wanted to do something to make a difference by volunteering to become a member of a highly regarded group. I became key member of a team to execute a challenging media project. We delivered this project on-time, on-budget and on-quality. How did I achieve it? I applied the principle of project management that focuses on people, process and technology. One year had passed, and my thirst for knowledge remained unquenchable. I have always dreamt of having a Ph.D. in Economics so I thought why not obtaining a Master’s degree in Economics in a developed country where I could learn about what makes the developed country truly great. That in mind, I proceeded to Canada in August 2014.

I completed my Master’s degree in Economics with options in Data Science, but sooner I realized that my curiosity for Information technology was not a fluke. The interest was sustained by the dynamic nature of globalization, and reinforced by the blistering change in the global economy. When curiosity is mixed with passion, the result is always a satisfying career. I made a proactive decision by taking a Master’s Degree with specialization in Data Science. I must confess, the complexity in content and the rigor of the combined program were nothing short of challenging, but I don’t quit. While others were on summer vacation, I enrolled for a specialized certification at the Ontario College of Management and Technology http://www.ocmtontario.ca/. This was where I acquired additional skills in Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP-SAP)http://go.sap.com/index.html , and became a Certified Consultant.