"I'm not superhuman. It's a mindset. Anyone can do it."
Natutong makibaka ang Women in Technology WA (WiTWA) ‘20 in 20’ awardee na si Jennifer Reyes sa kahit anumang sitwasyon na mapunta siya.
Aside from being a Women in Technology WA (WiTWA) ‘20 in 20’ awardee, Jennifer also now serves as WiTWA Secretary. Source: WiTWA
Batang matapang
Mula sa pagkabata, natutunan ni Jennifer ang kahalagahan ng pagiging matapang at matatag mula sa kanyang mga magulang.
"My family migrated to Perth when I was eight years old. I remember one day watching TV and I turned around to my dad and said, Out of all the countries that you had to ship us to, why couldn’t you ship us to America where they have Sesame Street?' But I later on realised that those hard decisions they made, they made for [me and my sister]."
At pagdating sa mahirap ng mga desisyon, saad ni Jennifer na dahil na-bully siya sa eskwelahan noon, pinagdesisyung niyang magkaroon ng "strength to figure out what you think of me is your own prerogative and what I think of me is my own prerogative."
From an early age, Jennifer discovered that the strength and tenacity she learned from her parents were allies that would serve her well in the years ahead. Source: Jennifer Reyes
Ang kanyang pagdedesisyon din ang nagdala sa kanya sa karera kung saan nailabas niya ang kanyang galing.
"To be perfectly honest with you, the reason I got into technology and Computer Science was to actually meet boys. I remember going to a lecture...in a whole lecture hall, there were only about two or three females. That's when I thought, I chose the right course! " she laughs, adding, "Lucky enough, I actually enjoyed the work."
[L] Jennifer as a Computer Science graduate; [R] Jennifer married Trevor, who is also in IT. Source: Jennifer Reyes
Ang kanyang karera
Ayon kay Jennifer, asset ang pagiging babae sa industriya ng STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics).
"I don’t go into a meeting and think Oh I'm the only woman here! or How they would look at me? Any challenges I went through in my career, I took them like I still needed to further develop myself or it was not the right opportunity for me. [I think being a woman] is an asset because women in general bring a fresh perspective to any discussion. The way we think about solving a [problem] is completely different."
Ang ibang pagtingin sa problem solving ang nagdala din kay Jennifer na magtayo ng sariling tech company upang i-address ang mga pagbabago sa industriya ng oil at gas.
"My role in the company I used to work for was to scout the globe for up-and-coming tech that would help the business of oil and gas. I saw a lot of gaps. I started talking with my husband, who is more techie than I am, about some of the challenges that we were facing and my thoughts on how we can make things better."
Looking at problem solving in a different way led to the beginnings of a tech company that addressed the shift in the oil and gas market. Source: Jennifer Reyes
Dahil napagtanto niya na mas magiging automated at autonomous na ang industriyang ito, umalis siya sa kanyang "comfy" na trabaho upang buoin ang VROC, isang predictive analytics na kompanya, noong 2013 kasama ang kanyang asawa.
"What we do in VROC is machine-learning. It's in the same vein as machines talking to machines without any human interference. The sensors we put on machines will collate data. What we do is we identify when a particular equipment will fail and what the root causes are of those failures. It's a lot easier to handle a massive amount of data now."
Jennifer with the VROC team Source: Jennifer Reyes
Kahit naniniwala ang mga Reyes sa teknolohiyang kanilang ginawa, hindi sila sigurado noon na mabebenta nila ito. Nagulat sila ng maging unang kliyente nila ang isang Singaporean na kompanyang pag-aaari ng gobyerno.
Habang tinatahak ni Jennifer ang buhay negosyante, nabuntis siya't naghahanda maging ina sa kauna-unahang pagkakataon.
"I remember back then I was like Oh God, what else can you give me? I have so much on my plate! I don’t think I can handle this! But you know what? I got through it. I got through which I thought were probably the darkest and most exciting times [of my life]."
Jennifer, Trevor and their son Jacob Source: Jennifer Reyes
Tuloy-tuloy ang laban
Ngunit, di akalain ni Jennifer na mas may malaking hamon pa ang darating sa kanyang buhay.
"When I started to get a hang of being a first-time mother and being a first-time entrepreneur...fast forward to late 2017, I was diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer. I remember hearing the news from my oncologist and I remember going home and I said to my husband You know what? We need to look at this as business as usual," she shares, adding, "I went to work and I had a team meeting. I didn't want it to impact what we were doing."
Ginagawa ni Jennifer ang lahat upang hindi maapektuhan ng kanyang sakit ang kanyang pamilya.
"Every decision I made was basically based on how it was going to impact my family, especially my my three-year old. I had to prepare myself for that kind of mindset. I didn't want the cancer to impact who I was."
Every decision Jennifer made was based on how it was going to impact her family, especially her three-year old son. Source: Jennifer Reyes
Habang nagpapahinga na muna ang iba sa kanyang sitwasyon, pinili ni Jennifer na patuloy pa ring magtrabaho. Hindi lang siya pumapasok kada ikatlong Huwebes at Biyernes para sa chemotherapy. Pagdating ng Sabado't Linggo, sinisigurado niyang mag-ukol ng panahon para sa kanyang mag-ama.
"The only time that I was literally out of the office was when I had my double mastectomy. I think that was on my birthday in April. That was a nice way to spend a birthday," she jokes, adding, "I remember my friends and family telling me Relax. Take some time off. But in hindsight, I'm glad I didn’t because that contributed to my healing."
Ngayon, patuloy pa rin ang laban ni Jennifer na umiinom pa rin ng oral chemotherapy.
Jennifer continues to persist in both life and work. Source: Jennifer Reyes
"I'm not in remission at the moment. It takes five years for a cancer patient to be classified cancer-free. The last scans I had though, there were no anomalies; so fingers crossed," she shares, adding, "For me, a struggle is not a lifetime of struggle. It's only a lifetime of struggle once you stop [moving forward]."
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