Meet the Sheffield girl that is among a small group of women leading the way in Tech

After being bullied in school, Pauline never imagined that her hobby in coding and I.T would lead to her success in her I.T career now.
Pauline Narvas  Speaking at an eventPauline Narvas  Speaking at an event
Pauline Narvas Speaking at an event

Pauline Narvas came to Sheffield with her family when she was only five years old. Now at the age of 23 she is among the small number of women in tech encouraging the future women in I.T

“When I was 8 years old I enjoyed the code and tech world. I learnt to build my own game after being inspired by an online game I loved playing called Runescape.” Pauline said.

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Pauline went to school and university here in Sheffield. When the time came to pick her GCSE’s she decided to go into computing but felt isolated where she was as the only girl in her class.

She was bullied and teased for her interest in I.T that then lead her to hide her hobby and drop it as a possible career choice.

“I remember there was this time when bullies from my school found my website and left nasty comments on it and shared it around at school.” She added.

When it came to university her parents suggested that she go into medicine but Pauline continued to do I.T alongside her studies in secondary school.

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“I got to my second year of university studying Biomedical science and realised I wasn’t inspired or passionate about it. Then I got an email from Code First Girls.” She said.

Code First Girls is a non-profit organisation that teach women how to code.

Pauline explained that her past experience of sharing her joy of coding lead to her being bullied at school but went to the coding sessions anyways to find a room full of girls in the same boat as her, wanting to learn how to code in I.T.

“I ended up helping out and teaching code in the classes. I ended up teaching about 200 students.”

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This renewed her confidence but it was not until her placement year in the University of Sheffield that she was encouraged by a female colleague to go for a future in I.T.

Pauline began to attend women in tech events in Nottingham and London that welcomed her into a huge community of women in the technology industry.

After Pauline graduated she got on to a two year BT graduate scheme with EE, the national digital communications and mobile network operator where she is getting the opportunity to learn more and how to use some of the most advanced and new technologies yet.

“What I enjoy most about I.T is that it’s changing everyday and there’s so many things going on. I enjoy reading about the new tech that’s coming out and that it’s constantly getting better to make our lives better.

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When asked what she saw for the future of women in tech and I.T she said: “A lot more people are more aware of the gender gap and the pay gap. At EE we have a gender equality network and we look at how to improve the gender gap in our teams.

“There is a lot more initiatives that are trying to balance this out.” Pauline added.