Setting the Foundation for Navigating the Business and Technology World

Setting the Foundation for Navigating the Business and Technology World (from Nautilus 15)

I never imagined how much my experience at Cambridge would set a strong foundation for my career in business and technology.  While a strong family upbringing and a strong undergraduate experience were as important, my time at Lucy Cavendish College and the Judge Business School was transformative.

Being affiliated with an all-female college, I found myself in a unique environment, where I met accomplished women from all walks of life.  Despite the differences, I quickly realized we all had the common passion, intellectual curiosity and depth, tenacity and desire to make a positive impact in the fields we chose to pursue.  Lucy Cavendish fostered a supportive environment where we discussed, debated, and deepened our perspectives on various topics such as politics, society, economics, religion.  Lucy also provided a unique environment where we could discuss choosing a supportive life partner and the balance of raising a family while pursuing a career.   It was also an encouraging environment where we discussed the important contributions to society made by women and lifted each other up to excel in our talents. 

Fast-forward sixteen years and I am a technology specialist in the healthcare space, an adjunct professor in management and technology at a local university, a leader in women’s and other diversity efforts within the technology and healthcare industries, and an avid volunteer in my community.   Specifically, I want to share how being a technology leader was shaped by my time at Lucy Cavendish.

The evolution and pace of technology has accelerated rapidly.  There is no question that technology plays an instrumental role in today’s digitally evolving society.  As a technologist by training, this is music to my ears and it is encouraging to see what I was formally trained in now having so much relevance.  As an IT leader, I have the unique, multi-faceted role of bringing together multiple end-users with varying perspectives and personalities, actively listening to their needs, educating them on the value technologies can bring them, helping them see possibilities, delicately balancing priorities amongst various stakeholders and, all joking aside, occasionally managing escalations when the Wi-Fi cuts out or end-users receive what is known as the “blue screen of death”.  

In addition, with the world becoming more digital, it is exciting to see non-technologists engaging in digital conversations.  Usually in those conversations, alongside the technical perspectives, I find myself discussing and bringing to the table an awareness of factors such as organizational strategies, people, processes, finances, value, ethics, security, privacy, and regulations, all of which are important ingredients in successful organizational and technical transformations.  I cannot help but look back at how Lucy Cavendish College and the Judge Business School prepared me well by helping me to shape and articulate my own views, learning to keep an open mind, honing my critical thinking and analytical skills, and understanding how multiple factors can have implications to a situation.  Those conversations at high table and Formal Hall certainly paid off!

In addition, the College prepared me well to understand my own voice and my role as a woman, and a woman of colour, in technology where representation, especially at senior levels of management and on for-profit boards could and should improve.  While ability and hard work are absolute pre-requisites, understanding and appreciating diversity must also be considered.  Diversity is imperative for organizations to succeed.  There are still great strides to be made in this area and this has inspired me to get engaged and lead various organizations supporting gender parity in technology and healthcare.   I still recall my inspiring conversations with Dr. Jane Collier and Dame Sandra Dawson on these topics and how these amazing women were role models to me.  They inspired me to move forward.  

All in all, my time at Lucy Cavendish College was a wonderful, humbling, once-in-a-lifetime experience.  It was a privilege and honour to attend such a fascinating place. It prepared me well and I am grateful for the opportunity to have spent part of my life there.