Growing up, a career in technology seemed out of reach for Kosiso Akporji. As the daughter of Nigerian immigrants, she had trouble envisioning herself in an industry so dominated by white men. But as an undergraduate at Temple University, her view began to shift when she became involved with the National Society of Black Engineers, a student-run organization with 30,000 members.  

“I had never seen so many Black people in tech,” Kosiso recalls. “And not just Black men, but women. I always thought of it as a man’s world.”

She was already knee-deep in pursuing a different career, however. She had nearly earned her bachelor’s degree in human biology and would soon be headed to the Notre Dame of Maryland University to earn her Doctor of Pharmacy. She couldn’t possibly change paths now, she remembers thinking at the time. She had missed her chance.

After earning her doctorate, Kosiso quickly found work as a pharmacist. She enjoyed the work, but her interest in technology was never far from her mind. As the years passed and her job grew stale, she contemplated the idea of going back to school, but it seemed too costly an endeavor—especially since she already had student loans to pay off from earning her earlier degrees. Plus, she had a good job. Would it really be worth the risk?

Then, after six years working as a pharmacist, Kosiso was laid off. 

“Suddenly, I didn’t have any excuses,” she says. “I knew if I didn’t do it then, I never would.”

She began looking into a new career path, but she wasn’t sure where to begin. She considered getting a master’s degree in information technology, but that still seemed too expensive and time consuming. She was lost. “I had no background in tech,” she says. “Only interest. I didn’t even know what a bootcamp was.”

Then a friend told her about Flatiron School. She first attended a coding academy to learn the basics and then applied to Flatiron School’s computer software engineering program. She also applied for Flatiron School’s Cognizant NexTech scholarship, and was surprised when she was selected as one of 100 students to receive the award—an event she describes as a miracle. 

Even after all her prep work, Kosiso says she was still surprised by how challenging the curriculum was. 

“I was thinking what have I gotten myself into,” she says. “But I knew what my goal was and so I just kept at it. The scholarship also helped. It was a signal that someone believed that I could accomplish this. They trusted me to do a good job, so I couldn’t even drop out if I wanted to. I wasn’t going to let them down—I had to see it through.”

With the support of Flatiron School instructors and her peers, Kosiso persevered and graduated from the program in October 2020. And with the help of a Flatiron School career coach, she began looking for work, eventually landing an internship with GoDaddy. That internship turned into a job offer, and now she is working full-time at the company in a software development role. 

Looking back, Kosiso says Flatiron School not only taught her software engineering skills but also to more strongly believe in herself and what she can accomplish. 

“Flatiron School has shown me that if I step out of my comfort zone, I can achieve anything,” she says. “It’s amazing to see where a leap of faith can take you. You have to take a chance on yourself—you just might be surprised where you end up.”