When Cecilia was at school in Nigeria, she loved maths and physics so much that she would happily spend her free time helping classmates work through tricky problems. She was especially fascinated by maps - how they were made, what they showed, and how they helped people understand the world around them.
That love of maps and numbers led her to study Surveying and Geoinformatics at university, where she graduated with the highest possible honours. Today, Cecilia works as a Hydrographic Surveyor, which means she measures and maps the ocean floor. Her job takes her all over the world, working on board ships for a company that supports the marine industry.
“Sometimes, being brave enough to go first is what makes you a role model for everyone who comes after.”
It hasn’t always been easy. Cecilia often works in a field where there aren’t many other women, and for a long time she didn’t have female role models in her own industry to look up to. Instead of waiting for things to change, she decided to become the role model she had been looking for - working hard, proving herself through her skills, and never asking for special treatment because of her gender.
Cecilia’s story shows that you don’t need to see someone exactly like you doing a job before you can imagine yourself doing it.