Meet Rahmot

Hiya!

In this post, you will get to meet me, 'Rahmot'.

Ready? Here we go.

 

Who are you?

I am Rahmot Afolabi! I am currently a Galaxy intern in Outreachy working on a project titled, Establish Galaxy Project Mentor Network. I am a positive person. That kind of person is shaking away any negative tendencies.

 

What you do?

I am a junior product manager. I love to create from scratch and give birth to ideas that improve someone’s life, in fancy terms, I enjoy taking products and companies to the next level and being the bridge between engineering and business to create solutions that solve real customer pain.

 

Why do you apply to Outreachy?

I applied to Outreachy so that I can gain some hands-on experiences as a PM. There are so many amazing people working on open source projects! I’d love to be surrounded by people I can learn from. Plus, I just love contributing to something much bigger than myself.

 

Why do you do what you do? What drives you to get out of bed every morning and go to work?

I am a young adult with big dreams and perceive we humans as beings saddled forever by an unquenchable desire.

After a long road of lost games, I've learned that "in life, unlike chess, the game goes on after checkmate" (Isaac Asimov), therefore I'll get out of bed every morning to lose until I evolve and achieve those lofty ambitions.

 

How did you get here?

By saying YES to everything - Do you want to learn? Do you want to work? Do you want to teach? Do you want to help? I live every day like it's my last, seizing every opportunity that comes my way.

I rode the wave and woke up here. I love it!

 

What's your biggest fear?

My greatest fear is failing to achieve whatever goals I set for myself in life. I want to build a humanitarian organization that will benefit children in third-world countries in addition to being a digital inclusion and empowerment advocate.

Another phobia of mine is acrophobia or fear of heights. Looking down from a high vantage point makes me panic. That is why I will never be caught dead climbing or trekking in the mountains.

 

How does your background make you unique?

As a person who has planned her life around being highly educated but failed at getting a degree, I know what it feels like when the world is falling apart. However, I didn't let that feeling consume me. I know that there are other ways to achieve my dreams, so I choose to fight. When my scholarly counterparts are sleeping, I am learning online to step up my game. Not having a degree is a blessing in disguise, it drives my curiosity into many areas. It has made me a lifelong learner.

 

Do you know what you’re good at?

I don't know what I am good at until I give it a shot.

Here is why!

Throughout my career, I'd taken up roles with little or no domain experience and I have always surpassed my managers' expectations.

In my previous role as a computer instructor at A-One Computer Training Institute, I started with no teaching experience and little knowledge of desktop publishing. But today, I have successfully instructed more than 300 students who are now utilizing the skills they acquired in their various fields. In fact, my boss increased my first-month salary because of the positive feedback she received from students.

As an avid volunteer, within three months I joined Girlz,ftw as a mentee Experience Manager, I was the first exec team member to be given a gift card. At Oyathel Payless trading and co. I was promoted from secretary to manager in a year. I achieved all these and more not because of previous experience but because of my ability to take initiative, adapt to change, and learn quickly.

So, I firmly believe that, in the end, I am good at every activity in which I commit time, passion, and hard work.

 

What's your biggest weakness?

My worst flaw is that I have a hard time trusting others. I'm not sure if it's a gift or not, but my first impression of someone is always correct. People prefer to hide their genuine motives from me, but I am able to see right through them. I'm not sure how I pull that.

 

It is easier for me to know what a person is going through from their emotions. For example, a person does not need to inform me that s/he is going through a hard moment. When they're around me, I'll just sense it. So, if their behaviours don't match the emotions I sense from them, I'll know they're lying to me.

 

What makes you offbeat, interesting, different from the rest?

I don't go with the flow; I am the flow. So, maybe that’s what makes me offbeat.

 

Tell something odd or unusual, something most other people don’t say or are afraid to say.

People, I believe, are afraid to talk about their night dreams, so I’m simply daydreaming - letting my mind wanders. It is always good to see how far my mind can travel.

 

Few more words...

Unbelievable! I just answered a very complex question, “who am I” because life is a journey and not until we get to the final destination we can fully describe it. Our experiences and encounters at each stop differ, which means our behaviours, interests and other things that define us may change after a while.