Happy Pinning! — evelynobamos

after almost six of the most memorable years of my first job in tech, this week wraps up my time at the pin factory. this was not an easy decision by any means, and i'm so grateful to have an infinite scroll of inspiration and learnings from brilliant colleagues. if there’s anything 2020 continues to teach me, it’s that change/challenges are inevitable.

prior to joining the tech industry, i was pretty oblivious to careers within it. i was born on guam, a tiny island territory thousands of miles away, and raised in hawaii—pretty far-removed from silicon valley, yet still able to feel its influence. from joining a 450+ pinployee company back in 2015, it’s been a blessing to help grow internationally, organize the internet, launch videos, build early foundations for creators, and celebrate many milestones along the way. after dusting off the archives to find all these photos, it’s safe to say that each moment solidified living out my ancestors’ wildest dreams.

this decision to leave was a tough one. on top of an endless resilience test as a recurring theme of this year, job and financial security has been alarmingly hard to come by for many people. that said, i don’t want to ignore how ‘taking a break’ is considered a luxury.

and while the spectrum of challenges proves infinite, it behooves me to also address how the past six years in tech has been a constant balancing act between assessing and prioritizing values, beating imposter syndrome, climbing learning curves, and navigating survivor’s guilt of upward mobility. im still a young pinay in my early career, but it didn’t take that long for me to recognize how women of color have to work twice as hard to earn gravitas. for us, pivoting sometimes means sacrificing an investment in hard-earned social capital.

thankfully, im not alone in walking a delicate tightrope of uncertainty and unapologetic curiosity. all the unseen forces behind past victories and strength from pitfalls continue to be from mentors, colleagues, friends, and several homegrown communities. i don’t think i can ever thank all these amazing people enough, so instead ill continue to do my best to lift as i climb. especially since my next chapter brings me closer to another dream —bridging technology gaps and storytelling. in a few weeks, i’ll be joining the comms team at stripe, with a focus on filmmaking.

yet again, another career i didn’t know i could pursue in tech.
cheers to breaking down walls, breaking ceilings, and simply, taking a break.

– to cap off six years, here are some treasured memories from over half a decade of growth –