Since Chung Wah Primary School and even throughout my high school years at the King George VI National Secondary School, the aim was to get into medicine.
Then in my last year, the 7th Form, my father suggested I take up Computer Science and Information Systems instead.
I was scared at first because I didn’t know what to expect. All I knew was it would be tough and it was a male dominated industry.
“Intimidating” was the word that came to mind.
But with my father’s encouragement and being the recipient of an Australian Award Pacific scholarship, I decided to take up the challenge and soon became excited about what the future would hold.
My father was very influential and supportive in shaping my decision to take up technology as a career.
In 2015 I stepped onto the University of the South Pacific Campus in Suva, Fiji. Bootstrapped with the scholarship and my father’s encouragement, as well as my family’s support. I felt validated and just as competent as any CS student. And for the next four years I challenged myself.
In March 2019, I graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree, majoring in Computing Science and Information Systems.
Completing my studies was not that easy. The courses, especially the computer science programming units were challenging. The theory of computing - interesting! But when it came to actual programming or coding in languages such as C++, Python and Java - that is a different story. It took a lot of patience, critical thinking and many hours of google searches and watching Youtube videos which was both interesting and funny.
Psychologically, the disproportion of male to female ratio in this environment was intimidating. And to a certain degree it toyed with my self esteem.
Nevertheless, my peers, lecturers and the support and encouragement from family were crucial in my journey to successfully complete my studies.
At USP there were only a handful of Solomon Islands students taking Computer Science & Information System programs that year. Not surprisingly, I was the only female. I formed a close knitted bond of friendship with 3 other Solomon Island students taking CS & IS during our year. This friendship was reflected in the way we supported each other. Whether it was during group assignments, last minute studying, giving each other moral support and equally important, the much needed jokes and laughter to get through the years. I cannot be more grateful for such friends.
Just before graduating in March 2019, I applied for a couple of vacancies. One at the Solomon Islands Submarine Cable company for the position of Operations Support Officer. To my surprise I was selected for an interview scheduled to take place after my graduation.
In preparation for the interview, I briefly reflected on the network cables learned at university, cat5e and cat6. And of course the concepts of data routing.
Scared and excited at the same time, my heart raced as I anticipated what was to come. Would I be successful without any previous work experience? What will the job entail? Would it be anything related to my course of study?
Thankfully the interviewers saw my potential and gave me the opportunity of a lifetime: To prove myself a worthy member of the team.
As luck or blessings would have it, I joined the Solomon Islands Submarine Cable Company (SISCC) as part of their operations team soon after.
Full of excitement and a tiny hint of doubt I walked into the SISCC office on my first day. Unprepared of course for the cable that was to become The Cable.
Seeing the submarine cable technology for the first time felt like being thrown into the deep end. I went straight into an entirely new ocean of learning - real life, career and undersea cabling technology.
This was huge for me, my first job! And even bigger because it’s a first of a kind national project for the Solomon Islands.
I was welcomed by the operations team. There were 5 technical officers and again not surprisingly, I’m the only female.
This presented a new challenge or so I thought. Me, the only female, young with no prior experience. Compared to my colleagues who had 10 - 20 years of experience under their belt and are considered experts in their own fields. But as it turned out, being young and inexperienced was not an issue. Submarine technology leveled the playing field. It was an entirely new experience for all of us in this new era for Solomon Islands.
SISCC also trains its employees. The training with Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN) was the life-jacket we all needed. We went through 5 different training sessions, both theoretical and practical to become certified to look after the Coral Sea Cable System (CS2) and Solomon Islands Domestic Network (SIDN) equipment. These training sessions gave me the know-how and drove my determination to grasp the concepts. Kudos to the ASN trainers, they did a great job in transferring knowledge and got us up to speed in no time.
My learning continued on the job supported by my colleagues. With their years of experience and extensive knowledge in other areas of the ICT sector, they are always willing to lend a hand, offer insights and motivate me to excel. They don’t see me as just a young woman, they see me as a smart young colleague.
Together we have already achieved a lot in our first year of operations.
During the year, some of the highlights towards the end of 2020, was when we had an issue with one of the network cards at a landing station at Taro, Western Solomon Islands.
A colleague and I were tasked to attend to the issue. And because this would affect internet traffic for the whole of Taro, we were given a strict limited time frame to replace the affected card and get the systems up and running again. Pleased to say, my colleague and I were very relieved and happy with ourselves when we managed to change the affected card and restored Taro’s internet connection well within the given time. This impressed our Network Operations Centre (NOC) and partners from Telstra and DataCo in PNG.
Another enjoyable achievement for our team was when one of the converters needed changing. This meant lifting out the old convertor and replacing it with a new one. This is located in one of the most dangerous equipment in submarine cable technology due to its very high voltage. The Power Feeding Equipment (PFE), which supplies power to the submarine cable and the repeaters.
The converter is estimated to be about 50Kg and is heavier than I am. Weighing my options, it became apparent that I would be of no use trying to lift that convertor. I made myself useful in front of the control panel changing configurations, while the men did the heavy lifting.
It's positive practical experiences like this that makes this job highly rewarding and enjoyable. There is never a dull moment, from maintaining and managing the networks to ensuring that the country has quality certified and reliable internet connection.
This job comes with further enjoyable perks too like traveling locally and internationally. The company has Cable landing stations in the Solomon Islands provincial capitals, namely Auki, Noro and Taro. And internationally located in Sydney and Port Moresby.
Traveling to these beautiful destinations with the purpose to ensure that these stations remain fully operational without any disruptions is both a professional and personal treat. A great way to enjoy work with a bit of leisure.
Working in the ICT industry is challenging and can be intimidating because it is a male dominant field. Regardless, building my career in the ICT industry, leadership is on the horizon. But I still have a lot to learn. For now I’m thankful for the opportunity to have an exciting, fun and personally rewarding career. And to be able to contribute to the development of ICT in the country is a bonus.
From being a young, inexperienced woman who believed in her father’s encouragement to take up ICT, I count this indeed a privilege, a daughter’s blessing and an amazing career.