I Am African And I Can: Rabiatou Wann Bah

Engineer Gets Promoted to Management Level

When her classmates went out to enjoy college life's enticing parties, Rabiatou Wann Bah, for long hours, stayed in studying. Her loyalty to her studies had not been in vain, for today she is reaping what she sowed.

Mrs. Bah, 28, earned her Bachelor's of Science (BS) in Electrical Engineering with honors in 2008, from Old Dominion University within a three-year period.

Two years into the field as a Process Engineer, she realized that she had an interest in leadership --most Engineers usually do not have an interest in leadership/management-- and embarked on a leadership training program that lasted approximately a year.

Management seemed rather challenging, but she still went for it. Out of the 10 people that were interviewed, Mrs. Bah ranked as "the best candidate" for the position.

Today, she works in the management sector for Micron Technology, Inc., managing "two separate groups of engineers that are merged into one."

As manager, she has learned one vital lesson about leadership: leadership is taking care of my people...I can not be successful if my team is not successful, and my team can not be successful if I am not successful.

Since Mrs. Bah works for a company that manufactures semiconductor devices --memory that goes into products ranging from computing, server applications to mobile, embedded automotive industries-- it is crucial that she makes sure her team does things the right way.

In her opinion, work is a lot easier and less challenging than school, because she had already completed in school what was most challenging (long hours of studying and solving hard problems).

Mrs. Bah is not the typical Engineer. At work she wears her serious hat, but as soon as she clocks out, that hat goes flying to Mars and on goes her fun hat. Traveling to any country she aspires to visit and eating extraordinary dishes that drive her taste buds insane.

She left Guinea, Conakry at the age of 18, settled in America where she was faced with having to learn a new language all over again, graduated and became a respected engineer. This overachiever did it all before the age of 30. Her plate is half full, thus still has more room for even grandiose projects.

A Glimpse of Mrs. Bah's World

Mrs.Bah in traditional attire

"I work in a field dominated by men, but I don't feel looked down on, because I focus on what I need to do. My parents always taught me that I could have anything I want if I worked for it."-Mrs. Bah