I am an IT Engineer at CROFTi, the techy young lady you wish your one-call-away friend, charr! Baga rah, hahaha!

Well, a lot have asked me lately about where am I working now? What do I do? ... and many more. This post is to answer those questions. I cannot guarantee that I will cover "all" but I hope I hit the important points. Please note that this post contains techy words. I tried my best to make them simpler through integrating them in relevant words and sentences that will be easily understood. I hope I did well. :)

CROFTi is an Australian-based company that specializes in delivering Innovation and technology consulting with business focused outcomes for firms and organization. As a broad and fully integrated company, we offer an array of solutions ranging from IT consulting, IT help-desk support, technical implementation and offshoring teams. And yes, I am one of the people who are responsible for the upkeep, configuration, and reliable operation of IT and computer systems; especially multi-user computers, such as servers.

In simple terms, we offer IT support/service to our clients. Our service include Unlimited IT Support (UIT) , which best means “Ask us whatever IT issues you have and we’ll fix it for you. Request us any IT-related setup/stuff and we’ll have that configured for you. Any time of the day, all year round!” May it be local IT requests, email deliverability and monitoring, web hosting and migrations, server setup and maintenance and much more. Think of it this way, if you are an administrator of your computer who can tweak every configuration in your device, then I am your ninja spirit that can do so much more unimaginable things on your computer and your network. ~wink~ And as usual, I am with my boys squad. Yeah, the only techy-lady in my team and I find it  so amazing! We also have other ladies in the team and they are on project management.

I started working here last March 20, 2017. That is just merely three weeks as to this writing and yet all I can say is “working here is one of the best decisions I made in my life this year”. I find it so amazing that with that small span of time, I am able to learn tons of new IT knowledge, helped lots of users with IT issues, and configured settings I never imagined before. I am happy onboard! It is good to think that I am part of something larger who makes a difference.

I find myself excited every day to come to the office and exert my best when it comes to my responsibilities. I am challenged everyday! It is very nice to work in an environment wherein everyone shares the same vision and is dedicated to the mission. This truly creates a family environment where everybody is there for each other and I find that kind of spirit here.
Not only that, people here are absolutely amazing! Though we are of different races and cultures, everyone is still helpful and supportive. We have the freedom to think outside the box and have all thoughts considered. I am able to use my skills and knowledge as well as push myself in areas that I am unsure of myself.

Communication within the team is convenient. If I want to talk to any of my teammate, I can do that because we work on the same shift with very slight difference.
It is so fulfilling having great colleagues everyday who assist me in times of doubt, appreciate the work that I do and also pat as well as thank me for the hard work at the end of the day. Every day is different and it is a constant adventure here. My job challenges me in different ways. I love it! Cheers to more greatness and challenges!

Unlike long time ago where women were just servants to men, women nowadays in almost ¾ of the world now possess equal rights to men. Gone are the days where women’s tasks are limited only to household chores and taking care of the children in the family. Thanks to the people who fought for women gender equality and pushed movements/activities letting the whole world know that women, just like men, are far more than any of that!

One of the great worth-mentioning communities that support and inspire women is Tech Ladies. This is a community for women that originated in Asia with a purpose to connect, learn, and advance women as programmers in the tech industry.

Tech Ladies is blossoming in Southeast Asia countries but not yet present in the Philippines. So, a group of independent techy women in Cebu wanted the community be expanded in the country. Thus, the birth of the the first ever Tech Ladies event in the Philippines that was held in Cebu City last February 24, 2017 at A Space Cebu.  The event encompassed lightning talks and networking over drinks. The main goal of the activity focused on motivating and supporting local women techmakers strive more for excellence and merit. It was a fun-filled getting to know session, great sharing of life struggles and creative gathering for women in Cebu.

What are the activities?
Games – By this, I really mean fun games! We wanted all women to be friends with each other and this is one way to achieve that. “The boat is sinking” game was very amusing. Through this, attendee’s talents that ranged from dancing, singing to beatboxing were flaunted and showcased in the open.
Motivational Talk for Women – There were three women speakers in the tech world who delivered very inspirational messages conveying the thought that women can be anything despite of struggles and challenges along the way.

Why did I join this?
I was a beginner programmer before I switched to System Administration kind of profession. I am an absolute supporter when it comes to women’s activities and improvement. Meeting new friends, listening to their unique life stories and learning a lesson or two are basically one of my 'wants' at this current stage of my life. I also believe that there’s more unimaginable things we can do.


This event is organized by independent women in tech volunteers in Cebu and our community partner A SPACE. Additional thanks go to our sponsors HappyWebs and Third Team Media.