Growing up, I faced financial hardships that made completing my degree in Biological Sciences at Njala University a constant uphill battle. Despite this, I excelled academically and secured an internship at the Sierra Leone National Tuberculosis Reference Laboratory. While grateful for this experience, I soon realized that the repetitive nature of lab work didn’t ignite my passion. I felt different when I began working with the lab’s data.

It was disorganized, primarily paper-based and needed improvement. I taught myself Excel through YouTube tutorials, and soon found myself immersed in data analysis for hours on end. I discovered a love for problem-solving, for uncovering insights, and for using those insights to make informed decisions. This newfound passion propelled me to seek out online courses on Coursera, even when it meant sacrificing basic necessities to pay for them. Unfortunately, Sierra Leone, like many African nations, still faces limited opportunities for advanced data education.