I joined Refactory during a pivotal transition in my career. I aspired to pivot into software engineering but struggled to find a suitable program. Unwilling to commit to another 3 or 4 years for a Bachelor’s degree, I tried several online programming courses, but they didn’t provide the comprehensive understanding I needed. While I learned many concepts, I couldn’t grasp how everything fit together in the software development landscape.
Joining Refactory in September 2020 and completing the Catalyst and Bootcamp programs by July 2021 transformed my understanding of software engineering. I gained hands-on technical skills in programming principles by working on individual projects and a client project.
What I loved most about the Refactory program were the non-technical modules in leadership and personal development, agile project and product management, human-centered design, and critical thinking. These skills have enabled me to become a well-rounded software engineer, and I can contribute meaningfully, technically and otherwise to the project teams I am part of.
A few months after completing the program, I joined Future Link Technologies as a Software Engineer, where I continue to serve to date. My first assignment was to contribute to the development of the MSACCO App—a community-driven marketplace for financial services designed specifically for SACCOs and microfinance institutions, allowing clients to assess, access, and choose the most relevant financial services. It was an exciting Monday afternoon, 5 months later, when I got to see the MSACCO App I contributed to, published on the Google Play Store. I bet that is how a mother feels when she holds her baby in her arms for the very first time.
My skills and responsibilities have continued to grow. As the technical team lead for one of the development teams, my responsibilities include spearheading integrations on the platform with partners like Telecoms (MTN and Airtel), Interswitch for ATM services, Google API for Optical Character Recognition, to mention but a few.
In my current role at Future Link Technologies, I have also had the opportunity to participate in the Stanford Seed Transformation Program which is a business leadership program, unlike any other, where we delved into what it takes to grow and scale a business. It was a very enlightening program that changed the way I approach my work as a software engineer. It helped me understand how to use my position as software engineer to drive the company strategy while leveraging data analytics to respond to the customer’s pain points.
I am also a mentor in Girls 4 Girls, Uganda STEM chapter where we empower women to lead in the spaces God has placed them within the STEM ecosystem. It is a pleasure for me to encourage more women to thrive in the STEM space.
On 8th April 2024, I had the opportunity to launch my debut book, “The Power of Intentionality: Rewriting Your Story,” in which I penned down my journey to changing the story of my life to one that is more intentional and purposeful. My time at Refactory Academy gave me the opportunity to reinvent my career journey, and for that, I am forever grateful.
