The Meet the Tech Leader series spotlights amazing women of color tech leaders who are making the tech industry better and are trailblazing the path for more WoC to enter the field.
We shine the spotlight on Ariana M. Davis. Ariana is a Lead Full Stack Engineer, Consumer Products & Technology for the Golden State Warriors. In this post, Ariana discusses what she loves about her career, how she prepared for it and how she dealt with challenges like impostor syndrome and not initially having a mentor. Ariana is featured in the book WOMEN OF COLOR IN TECH.
What do your day to day duties like?
My day to day can fluctuate between working on the newest features for the Chase Center website or maintaining updates to the Warriors website. Being able to work alongside people.
What do you love about your career?
The main thing I love about my career is having the ability to create and build whatever comes to mind. Having the creative reign to build something that can leave a lasting impression with my job and also my department is the best feeling to attain. Working alongside people who are just as passionate is the best work environment to be in.
What motivated you to pursue a career in tech?
Originally starting off in digital design, I decided to pivot to web development/engineering once realizing that I would like to implement both coding and design into my work and not just solely focus on design. Once realizing there was a position like that within my career, I decided to pursue just that. I found inspiration from coming across individuals who somewhat resembled me and I can relate too. Seeing women of color in tech doing what I do was that much more of a motivation for me to keep going and not stop.
What classes or professional opportunities prepared you for your current career?
My concentration in undergrad was both in computer science and information technology. Attending numerous hackathons throughout the years and placing myself in the tech community helped me become familiar and gain experience in what it’s like to be fully immersed in the tech field.
What role does/did mentorship have in your career growth?
Starting off, I really didn’t have a mentor like that. I took it upon myself to bet on myself and aim towards where I saw myself in the years to come and remember my “why”. Over time, there were people I looked to as mentors remotely (from a distance) but wasn’t necessarily in the field of tech but other things that I was interested in.
What efforts are you undertaking to bring more women of color in the tech industry? Why is this important to you?
Seeing women of color in tech doing what I do was that much more of a motivation for me to keep going and not stop. It’s important for me to bring other women of color in the tech industry to the table and give them opportunities that came my way or that I can pass along.
What advice would you give to other women of color looking to come into tech?
[The] advice I would give to other women would be to lock in on what you want to achieve and don’t let anything else get, or outside noise, get in your way. Always be yourself and continue to dominate in your field. Trust your gut, network a room and you know exactly what you’re doing.
