How Aanuoluwa conquered her fears about learning genomics & now she’s better for it

Written by Michael Olufemi | Edited by Chidimma Nwaku

Can you introduce yourself?

My name is Aanuoluwa Enitan Adekoya, I’m a PH.D candidate at University of Oklahoma Norman, OK.

What aspect of Bioinformatics are you interested in? How did you came across HackBio?

I had always been interested in computational biology, but I never knew where to start; hence, my interest remained at a distance for the longest time.

Then one day, I came across the LinkedIn profile of one of the facilitators at HackBio, and in all honesty, I just wanted my LinkedIn profile to be like his. To be able to talk about my computational biology skills at public forums boldly.

The only way to achieve this wish was to START since wishes are not horses. So, I took the bold step-to join HackBio. 

I was clueless, for the lack of better words. It was initially a disaster and too much of a ‘new challenge’ for me, so I dropped out. However, I continued my biology career and got a strange Ph.D. offer. Strange in the sense that I was offered the position based on what I said I would learn and not the skill I already have.

Wow! So what happened?

Shortly after my interview, I remembered the words of  Charles Swindoll that said “we are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situation”

Then I remembered that I had the opportunity to start my computational biology journey with HackBio the previous year. However, I did not make use of it, as I saw it as an impossible situation.

Then I reached out to one of the facilitators, Adewale Ogunleye; thank God for the smooth communication that emails provide. Shortly after we exchanged emails again, I got an email to sign up for the Genomics workshop, and then I gave it a deep thought.

I decided to do this with an open mind this time around, and I am happy to say that with the help of the trainers and the resources they made available, I could complete all of my tasks and gain valuable skills.

I can say that I have successfully conquered my fears, and I am now better prepared for the next phase of my journey; I am glad that I took this bold step. 

Thank you, HackBio!