Inspiring Women: Leslie Ramirez

Meet Leslie Ramirez, Microsoft MVP for her work supporting Spanish speakers learning C#, .NET and Azure.

Continuing with our initiative to interview outstanding women in technology, #WomenInpiringPeople, this time we will meet Leslie Ramirez, a System Engineer who has achieved great goals thanks to software development and her passion for it.

Meet Leslie Ramirez

Leslie is from the Dominican Republic. She has won a Microsoft MVP award for two consecutive years due to her contributions in the community. One of these contributions is her blog DominioTic.com, which is a blog written to support Spanish speakers learning about Microsoft technologies C#, Azure and .NET. In addition, she is dedicated to giving programming talks and providing open-source contributions.

Leslie began tinkering in technology at the age of 9, inspired by her father who is also an engineer and an example in her life. Thanks to this early start, Leslie graduated from her studies with the magna cum laude honor.

We started these interviews with the goal that more people who have the desire can find the right opportunity in the technological world and can change their lives.

We asked her to describe the technology in one word, and Leslie called it “Opportunity.” Why that word? Leslie says:

It is an opportunity because system engineering is one of the careers that provides more growth and allows us to change our lifestyle, allowing us to have a greater opportunity to work in our great dream companies. And, last but not least, it is the career of today and tomorrow.

In this interview, Leslie shares with us some important tips that could work for you who are reading this post to continue having success!

Leslie, tell us a phrase that describes you as a professional and what technology is for you.

“Just don’t give up trying to do what you really want to do. Where there is love and inspiration, I don’t think you can go wrong.”
— Ella Fitzgerald

Tell us some curious information about yourself that you want to share with us.

I started writing on my Dominio Tic blog because my dad asked me to. I didn’t like spending time on that at all. After I discovered my passion in programming and what I wanted to write about, it’s one of the things I enjoy doing the most.

In your tech career, what has been your biggest challenge? Could you share a bit with us?

I think the biggest challenge that I’ve had is to adapt myself to work in less inclusive environments of work. I’ve had to demonstrate that women could be as good as men in development. I’ve taken it as an opportunity to get better. For all the people that have been in that situation: Don’t give up and shine bright like a unicorn. 🦄

What learning did that challenge leave you with?

You can’t control everything; you can’t control or change others’ perceptions by words but by actions. If you do your best, learn and improve yourself, no one can’t take that from you.

What would you recommend to a person who is undecided whether or not to start a career in STEM?

This is a career of opportunities, which allows you to create the next innovation if you propose it. Discipline will be the key for you to achieve your goals. You will be as good as you intend.

Give us a tip for people who are currently working in STEM.

Find people that inspire you and can guide you through the path you want to follow. In the beginning, it can be a little bit confusing to get started and find the right steps to follow—a mentor could help you with that. You can also join communities of developers with the same goals that you have.

What advice would you give to a person who wants to have a successful profile like yours?

Start doing! And never give up. Sometimes the way is uncertain or you don’t get the result that you expect on the first try, but that’s the perfect opportunity to get better and learn from your mistakes.

Finally, I would like you to give some advice to your readers on how to organize our time, especially with large projects and a profile like yours.

Create your routines, create your schedule and organize your priorities. Never neglect the things that are important to you, like your health, eating and hours of sleep.

Wrap-up

Did you like the interview? You can visit Leslie Ramirez’s blog DominioTic.com.

Do you have an impressive woman that you would like us to interview? Let us know in the comments! 🌟 See you next time!