As I sit here typing out this paragraph, with terrible posture, that I am terribly hyper aware of, I have come to the realization that I do a lot of thinking. As I was thinking about thinking, I then thought about the last four months of my life. They have been something, I guess? Well, I chose not to assign a single adjective word to summarize more than 100 days of my life so I wrote about 500. Now for my 500 words, I would love to talk about The Bridge Career Accelerator Program – which I did from 16 January 2022, to today, May 18 2022. (cue drums). According to Merriam-Webster, a bridge is a time, place, or means of connection or transition.

The Bridge Program is under Impact Africa Network, a startup that seeks to improve the African innovation process by offering young talented people a studio and resources to gain skills and practice their entrepreneurial skills. The Bridge Program seeks to equip college graduates with skills needed in the corporate world to shrink the gap between what is required and what the students have.

The Bridge Accelerator Program

After applying for the program, I am ashamed to say that I completely forgot about it. Hear me out- Christmas chapatis. End of story. When I received my acceptance email on 12th January, and phone call, I was doing my industrial attachment. I was happy, excited in fact, but I did not know what awaited me.

Oh look at that we are at 200 words! The first session we had was with the CEO of Impact Africa Network, Mark Karake. I didn’t know what kind of organization this was, and as much as the world is a ‘small village’, there is only so much you can get from a google search. However, listening to Mark speak about his professional life, and his passion for what he is doing told me all I needed to know about Impact Africa Network. That is where my interest peaked and I was eager to see what the program had in store for me.

‘People invest in people’ is a quote that was repeated throughout the program, and I can say for a fact that the program invested in me. Every Monday morning, I woke up to do a mental model. Never in my life have I ever been excited to do anything resembling an assignment, but that changed. The mental models made me question how I functioned, and just like my meals, I always looked forward to the next one. The facilitators felt like professional parents of sorts, guiding us as we navigate the scary corporate world. I knew my questions would always be answered, even the controversial ones. The skills I got, from improving my resume and curriculum vitae to growing my LinkedIn network and proficiency in speaking were nothing short of eye-opening.

I should say I googled my name for the first time and that was hilarious because why did I find myself? Excuse my naivety but I knew for sure that my digital footprint was too insignificant for me to be that easy to find. We interacted with other teams under Impact Africa network, who imparted financial, interpersonal and entrepreneurial wisdom on us. The emphasis of community as Bridge fellows was amazing and the fellows I met had brilliant personalities. I can say I am happy as a woman, as a learner, and most of all, as someone who wants to grow in their career. The Bridge Program was proof that I am capable of more and frankly, we all are.

 Conclusion

I know I said these words would be 500 so let me make an attempt at keeping that promise by finishing. I would like to say thank you first, to the universe, for making me come across a link that promised to accelerate my career lol. I would also like to thank the facilitators of the program – Brian, Diana, Damaris and Barasa for walking with me and all the other fellows. You guys have made a real mark in my life and I mean that. The way you move is inspiring. My group, G-Force, for being true G’s and supportive to the end.

Finally, in the words of Snoop Dogg ,”I wanna thank me!” because I showed up consistently. Today we attended our last meeting, and I am gonna admit it, I will miss The Bridge. If I were you, I would enroll in this program.

Thanks to the Bridge, I have launched my career in tech and cybersecurity and I am excited for the opportunities and growth that lie ahead.