YRLP Ambassador,Glory Ugo speaks about her journey into STEM

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Glory Ugo is a graduate of Civil Engineering from the University of Nigeria,Nsukka. After her graduation in 2018,she went ahead for her National Youth Service Corps programme which she concluded in March 2020.

Shortly after the Covid-19 pandemic,she got employed in an engineering firm in Lagos and ever since,she has been improving herself with different learning platforms, volunteering and gaining more job experience.

She is also the first ambassador of YellowRose Launch Pad (YRLP)

1) Hi Glory, Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

My name is Glory Ugo and I’m an indigene of Imo state. I’m also a graduate of Civil Engineering from the University of Nigeria,Nsukka.

2) Ohh wow! That’s quite nice. Was Civil Engineering always your childhood dream?

Not really, to be very honest as a child I just wanted to do great things, I really didn’t have something in mind but I always knew I wanted to be a frontier.

3) Amazing! So when you finally got older, why did you choose STEM?

I chose a career in STEM because I didn’t want to study what everyone else was studying in my family.

4) What was it like when you finally started studying STEM as a female in Nigeria?

I was excited but a lot of people both male and female students outside and within STEM were surprised I was an engineering student. They kept on saying I was supposed to be in the Arts faculty where the pretty ladies were (lol).

On the part of the lecturers, they were really good to us especially the male lecturers. We were always asked to seat in the front row in class.

5) So from your experience and journey in the Nigerian STEM field, do you think there’s more space for females in STEM?

There is definitely a place for more females because we are advancing so much in technology and STEM is growing along side it. There is definitely so much innovation going on in STEM and girls need to be actively involved to achieve a gender equal society.

6) What would you say your greatest achievement in life has been so far?

My greatest achievement in life, I will say is self discovery. I’ve been able to find out more about myself, who I am, what I want to really do in life and how to use engineering as a tool to fulfill my purpose.

7) Great! So if you could acquire a super power to make use of for girls in STEM or those aspiring to be in STEM, what would it be?

If I could choose a superpower it would be the ability to control their minds. I will then make them understand that they are as much human as the boys,so they should learn to take charge.

8) Before we round up this session, what advice would you like to give young females who’ll love to venture into the STEM aspect of education?

My advice to any young girl aspiring to be in STEM would be to consider Engineering as a choice and she should also know that she can be absolutely anything she wants to be if she puts her mind to it.

Thank you so much for your time Glory.

It was really nice talking to you.