Jasmine Samarco knew she had an interest in the information technology field in high school. She took that interest through college, and a decade after graduating, she’s now an IT scrum master for Equitable in Charlotte, North Carolina.
At Black Enterprise‘s 2022 Women of Power Summit in Las Vegas, she spoke to rolling out about her career and offered advice tor young Black professionals looking to enter the same field.
What are you looking to gain from this conference?
I’m looking to gain some insight into my career development, looking to get some clarity and understanding of some things I’m doing. How I can speak out more, and how I can really use my voice to elevate my career.
Who is the first person that exposed you to the world of IT?
I had a computer professor back in high school, but what really influenced me to get a little further into it, was back in college. I had a professor named Wendy, and she was the first Black professor I ever had.
Seeing her career development, and her passion, the way she inspired all her students, made me really want to be a part of that, and I thank her for that today.
How powerful is it to look around this weekend and see nothing but Black women in powerful business positions?
It’s amazing. I was just telling a couple of people here, I’ve never been in a room with so many successful Black women.
Being here has been such an inspiration. I know, we’re just getting started, but I’m looking forward to meeting different women, connecting and learning more.
What is your advice for young Black kids who want to get into IT?
Follow your dreams, continue to grow and learn, be curious about technology. Be curious about things you want to learn about, because sometimes you can get into a role, and you don’t want to get stuck. So you want to make sure that you are continuously learning, Google searching and [watching] YouTube. Everything is found on YouTube these days, but just continue to be open-minded and be willing to learn and grow.
With Women’s History Month coming to a close, how do you think Black men can do a better job of protecting Black women?
That’s a great question. I would say continue to be supportive. When you see women in specific roles, just be there, encourage them. If you can be an advocate, please definitely do that because sometimes, as we were talking about, or as the panel was talking about, it’s hard to speak up.
Sometimes we think our work is going to speak for us, but we definitely need support from people within our roles, as well as people outside.
