Meet Strategio’s Technologist: Sarah Al-Said

Hello friends :) I’m Sarah Al-Said, and I am currently a Technologist at Strategio. Here is a little about myself and my career transition from healthcare to tech.

Describe yourself in 3 words.

Three words I would use to describe myself are passionate, adaptive, and optimistic.

When a thought sparks in my mind, my passion has always been the fuel that allowed me to bring that idea to life. Adaptability has allowed me to wear numerous hats in my career. Working in medical offices during the pandemic, where we were extremely short-staffed, I took on numerous roles to attend to the needs of our helpless pregnant patients. Above all, my optimism allows me to see the best in all situations regardless of the circumstances, constantly looking for solutions and ways to grow.

Why did you join Strategio’s Simulator?

After completing 100Devs, a completely free boot camp for full-stack development, I began the job hunt for a software engineering role. It didn’t take very long to notice the gaps that persisted in tech, despite all these companies boasting about their inclusivity and mediocre cultural values.

Strategio’s mission to bridge the gap between underrepresented and underserved groups in tech is remarkable. Finding a safe space in tech that allows me to flourish and empowers me to be my authentic self has gravitated to my decision to join Strategio.

What were you doing before you joined Strategio?

Before joining Strategio, I had just completed my boot camp journey of eleven months at 100Devs — building applications from static to full-stack mobile responsive apps in the MERN stack. It was an amazing opportunity that allowed me to work in teams of developers, contribute to open-source projects and even land my first freelancing client!

I also had the opportunity to join an amazing initiative called GirlCode as an ambassador, offering a helping hand to other women who are breaking into the tech space. Once I had graduated, I began the job hunt, and it didn’t take long to realize how much of a full-time job it would be. Luckily, through networking, a close friend of mine shared her experience with me about Strategio and connected me with her recruiter. In less than a week, I was in!

What are you most excited about this year?

With four weeks left in the year, I am excited to start my journey at Strategio and take advantage of this opportunity to learn as much as possible in this simulator. I hope to continue growing and reminding myself that the opportunities in the tech space are limitless, we just have to go out and look for them.

What made you decide to get into tech?

Although I was practically a coding weenie during my Tumblr era in middle school, I decided to pursue healthcare administration when it came to choosing a major in college. Growing up with a brother with special needs, I was drawn to learning everything I can about why a first-world country like the United States has such a broken healthcare system. Later, I got experience in the healthcare industry and went back to grad school to complete my master’s in healthcare management. Working 50 hours a week during the pandemic, the crippling mediocrities of our healthcare system had me feeling expendable.

I eventually had an epiphany that I can brush up my coding skills from my Tumblr days to find ways to eliminate health disparities rather than trying to fix them. Shortly after getting COVID-19, I enrolled in 100Devs and began sharpening my software engineering skills in every way possible.

What do you like to do during your spare time?

My absolute favorite thing to do in my spare time is weight-lifting. The second I step foot in the gym, I can spend hours training while listening to my favorite podcast, “The School of Greatness,” hosted by Lewis Howes.

What is your favorite cultural value at Strategio?

My favorite cultural value at Strategio is giving us the space to be ourselves unapologetically. There are enough cookie-cutter versions of Elon Musk in the world, and how remarkable is it to be a part of an organization that pushes you to hold on to your unique attributes :)

If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?

If I could travel anywhere at this exact moment, you would find me in Jerusalem, Palestine.

What’s your favorite restaurant?

My absolute favorite restaurant at the moment — since it changes once a month — is Nine Five Pho in South Florida. Firstly, kudos to whoever came up with the name as a spin-off to our area code (954)… practically genius. I recently got hooked on their spring rolls and have been going there a little more than my wallet can allow.

What are you looking forward to learning/gaining during the Strategio Simulator? (Video)

Link to video here.

If you have any questions, feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn.