Meet Hajer Karoui, 2020 Africode Mentor of the Year!
In 2020, the Africode Mentorship Program comprised of 16 mentors and 32 mentees. Each mentor was paired with two mentees to form what we call a “Mentorship pod”. Hajer Karoui was one of our 16 incredible mentors, who worked closely with her mentees over the course of 10 months and guided them along their journey to building a successful career in tech. Her outstanding commitment to the success of her mentees help them land a prestigious scholarship and a summer 2020 internship at Google, respectively! Recognizing Hajer’s exemplary mentorship and leadership, we spoke to her to learn what makes a great a mentor and to get a glimpse into her journey in tech.
About Hajer:
Having grown up in the coastal city of Sousse in Tunisia, I am a Mediterranean at heart, with Moroccan origins from my mother's side. I am the second oldest of 6 girls. I moved to the US after obtaining my baccalaureate in Mathematics, where I pursued a BSc in Computer Science at Drexel University in Philadelphia, with a minor in Neuroscience.
After graduating, I spent a year in New York City as a full-time Cyber-security consultant at Ernst & Young, before moving to London for graduate studies. I am currently enrolled in a Master of Research in Experimental Neuroscience at Imperial College London. My 5-year undergraduate program at Drexel enabled me to get into the tech world professionally starting my sophomore year. I completed 3 co-ops (6-month internships) and worked off and on campus occupying various roles, ranging from mobile and web app developer, to IT security intern and research assistant. These placements were very crucial to my growth in the tech space, and were instrumental to my ability in choosing what sub-fields of tech I want to be involved in.
After trial and error and exploration, I realized I was most inclined towards interdisciplinary research, making use of computer science to study the human brain and the human mind.
What are some of your interests/hobbies?
School is not my only pastime, I usually spend my free time traveling (locally or across borders and continents), reading, painting, listening to podcasts, playing the piano and occasionally enrolling in a course online or learning a new language.
How did you find out about Africode and why did you choose to become a mentor?
I really enjoy teaching and mentoring, which encouraged me to apply to be an Africode mentor. I find myself constantly thinking of ways to spend my time purposefully and maximize it not just for myself, but also for the community by benefiting it, whether it is small or big. Halima Olapade, a colleague in the tech world and Africode's team lead, brought to my attention this mentorship program that instantly spoke to me. I was so far from home, and I found this to be one of many ways to share my journey, insight, successes, and failures, and to keep learning from others.
What did you enjoy about being an Africode mentor this year / What are the makings of a good mentor?
One of the highlights of this year being a mentor is seeing the growth in self-reflection in both of my mentees throughout our conversations, and their strive for progress. I enjoyed being their point of contact when they had questions or needed advice, I enjoyed being their friend as we are still in touch and occasionally text or call.
Although I had a similar role in college as a "Peer mentor", this was my first experience being part of a structured mentorship program where I followed the progress of mentees assigned to me. I went in with the same mindset I have with my 4 younger sisters: ask questions, encourage, probe curiosity, tell your story, be a resource, and be a friend. I gave them the freedom to choose the frequency of our calls, which I think is important; it lets them think more about where they stand and how much they want to get out of the program. I am hoping that these were good strategies with my mentees who were never shy to reach out and talk to me about personal and career goals. It was a two-way stream, they heard from me as much as I heard from them, and that always kept the conversation going.
How did your experience in tech allow you to be a good resource for your mentees?
Through my discussions with my mentees and other colleagues, I realized that most people face the same kinds of challenges along their career, some are specific to the tech world, some less so. I think it was very important for me to share struggles I faced when I was in the same stage as my mentees, how I overcame them or how I know other people did (we are different and may need different ways to do the same thing!), and how the process changed me. I shared my success stories, but I made sure they were raw, honest, and unfiltered. We tend to forget that when we see successful people, it is important to emphasize that both effort and obstacles are part of the deal.
What are your academic or professional ambitions?
For my future plans after I finish my masters, I would like to stay in London and work as a research assistant at a lab affiliated with an academic institution, or a company (Google DeepMind is the dream), before applying for a PhD. My goal is to have an impact in the scientific world and healthcare and improve people's quality of life.
What is something in the African tech space that currently interests you?
The African Tech space has been exponentially growing, with an explosion of tech hubs as startup culture gains more traction and deepens among the young generations. What currently interests me most in the African Tech world is Fin-Tech. It is a very fertile field for investment, introducing more digitization of payment and lending processes. We (expats) take it for granted, but when we come home even for a short time, we realize how much there is to be done to make this aspect of life easier. I am personally not involved in it at the moment, but I know many of my friends and acquaintances in Tunisia and across Africa are deploying massive efforts in advancing African Fin-Tech, and I would love to contribute to these initiatives in the near future.
If you’d like to connect with Hajer, you can find her on LinkedIn here.
Africode thanks Hajer and all of 2020 mentors for their dedication and support in helping us grow the African tech community and build up future technologists!
Congrats again to Hajer!