Success is achieved by standing on a mountain of failures. My case is no different. In reflection, there are 3 failures in my life that got me to where I needed to be. It is upon these failures, I now am a full-time employee at Microsoft and a graduate student at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU). Without these 3 key failures occurring when they did, I don’t think I would be where I am today. Today I share those failures, in the hopes that someone does not let their failures define them.
Failure 1: Being held back in 2nd Grade
For those that know me, I have been exceptionally successful in my academic career. In high school, I graduated with a 4.1, and in undergrad, I graduated with a 3.2. However in 2nd grade, my teacher believe that I was not reading at a 2nd grade level. A week or so later, I returned to the 1st grade. In 1st grade, I remember that was the first time I was exposed to multiplication, something I would call one of the fundamentals of math. While this might seem insignificant, I graduated with an Electrical Engineering degree, a very math heavy degree. I believe repeating multiplication in 1st grade, gave me an advantage for my future math classes. After this point, I can remember how easy math started to feel easier for me. This lead to honors classes and even an Advanced Placement (AP) Calculus class. While I don’t know what my life would of been if I would not have been held back, I think of this moment as one of the key moments that allowed me to become who I am today.
Lesson: When you are held back in life, it does not mean you do not have the capacity to be successful. It just means you have to work harder and figure out how you can be successful.
Failure 2: Not getting into UC Berkeley
If you have had a dream school, then you know the desire of wanting to get into that school feels like. I wanted to get into UC Berkeley since I was in middle school, wearing a Cal backpack all around campus. If you read my last post, you know that I did not get into UC Berkeley, instead I got into UC Riverside (UCR). Note: I did not apply to UCR, but I was accepted because my mom talked me into applying to UCLA their sister school. UCR ended up being the perfect fit for me. It was the most diverse UC when I was there, and it was a large school that felt small. The National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) chapter was the same way. While we were a small chapter, we also had the Regional Southern California Zone Chair as part of our chapter. This was lucky for me because the Chapter President, Ebube Agu, nominated me to be the Regional Southern California Zone Chair for the 2012-2013 term. That nomination changed the direction of my life. I went on to be a collegiate Regional Chair, then helping plan the 2015 National Convention, and being a 2019-2020 Professional Regional Chair.
I do not think this would have happened to me at UC Berkeley. Berkeley had a more established chapter, and I think I would have gotten lost in the crowd. I think I would not have been as driven to get myself nominated for a Regional Executive Board (REB) position. This would have effected the leadership and self-improvement journey I am today as I would have no leadership experience. I believe it is fortunate I did not get into UC Berkeley. Without that failure, I would not have adjusted my personal statement for CMU to reflect who I am. Out of the 3 schools that I applied to, my CMU personal statement was the most authentic one I wrote because I knew I needed to stand out. I believe that is the difference of me getting into CMU.
Lesson: When not getting where you want to be, look at where you are and find the opportunity that is in your new space.
Failure 3: Not being selected as a Technical Evangelist
At Microsoft, there was a role called a Technical Evangelist. As it was described to me, a Technical Evangelist role is to turn Microsoft customers in to Microsoft fans. This would be done through blogging, attending conferences, and sharing information to the technical community. In 2014, as a senior in my undergrad, I was being interviewed for this position. It sounded like a dream opportunity for me. However, at the time I was also being interviewed for a Microsoft Support Engineer role too. I got the offer for the Support Engineer role first and I had one more interview with the Technical Evangelist team. On the phone, I told the Technical Evangelist team the following:
“I just wanted to let you all know, that I received an offer to be a Support Engineer for another Microsoft team.”
Demetri (March 2014)
The Technical Evangelist team responded stating thanks for letting them know, they would check with the other team and update me. Shortly after that call, I was not given the offer for the Technical Evangelist role. I accepted the Support Engineer offer. This is a failure for me because I was sold on the Technical Evangelist role.
While I know both offers were at Microsoft, at the time I felt support did not fit me. My first year and a half in support was not the best experience either. I think it was because I had not found the technology that fit me yet, identity. Ultimately, once I came into my own as an Azure Identity Specialist (not an official title), I feel at home at Microsoft. With this niche, I have become a leader, mentor, advisor, and confidant among my peers in the identity community. Being that kind of leader was always the space I wanted to be in and in this space I see myself being able to continue to grow. Growing as a leader and the desire to continue to grow in my field are what lead me to CMU. Being a Support Engineer accelerated my decision to grow. I did not have an IT background, so the past 7 years I have been force to grow. Attending CMU, is a formalized version of that training of my self-taught approach to learning IT. Being at CMU is an opportunity I am extremely grateful to have.
Lesson: What you want, may not always be what is best for you. Sometimes another opportunity is presented with even greater benefits.
Overall Lesson
Life is like… just kidding. Overall, I think these 3 failures put me where I needed to be. They allow me the comfortability to be here writing my truths. I do not think I would be comfortable sharing these failures if they resulted in me being miserable. Ultimately, as the biggest lesson I have learned is my failures do not define me, do not let them define you either.
Blkgradstudent 
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