I am by nature a competitive being, not sure if it was something instilled in me, or just something I felt growing up. It was simply that I had to do well, excel and be better than others. This was not in a bad way, but rather I measured my success on where others were at. This was to also play a part during my career. I often felt that women had to go above and beyond what men did or over achieve to be seen as successful. I started my IT journey in the 90s – it was a time of high interest rates, high unemployment rates – the recession hits hard, families start to lose jobs and their homes. One morning I began the process of looking for work. Failing to find a role suitable to my qualifications (BA (Hons), Post Grad in Criminology, ) I became a bit despondent. I held two degrees but no role to be found, yet there was water everywhere (in a vast pond called Information Technology), but not a drop to drink for me.[/cs_text][/cs_column][/cs_row]So Today, I have been – Board member – Mentor – Blogger – Go Girl Program Director – Senior IT leader – A mother – A wife, a friend, a colleague Tomorrow, I want to – Leave a legacy behind, that I have made a difference to those coming after me