My Future is Secured: Baliqis Mosunmola Sulaimon’s Semicolon Story

Before Semicolon, all I had was a simple dream of becoming a veterinary doctor or owning a poultry farm. But now, I can think bigger, and I can see how tech can amplify all of those dreams.

My dad was an Imam and farmer, and my mom was a teacher. From a young age, I was encouraged to become a doctor. However, fate changed that dream, and I ended up studying Animal Health and Production in school. After graduating, I began teaching in a secondary school while searching for the next big thing. That search came to an end when I met Esther Aiyeola, my friend from school, at a wedding in 2023.

I had been seeing her posts on social media, but I didn’t fully understand what she was doing. That was the first time she told me about Semicolon and shared her journey so far. She explained everything to me, especially how challenging the program was.

I wasn’t afraid of how rigorous the program might be — I just wanted to be in a position where I could provide for my siblings. I had always had the habit of sharing any money I received with them. After convincing my parents, I moved from Ondo to Lagos for the first time. On my first day, I had mixed feelings, wondering how I would survive an entire year in a new environment.

Joining the program changed me. The first thing I learned was how to manage my time. I had to figure out what worked for me and how to adjust accordingly. I had also been someone who couldn’t speak or explain myself in front of a crowd, but that changed quickly.

I felt overwhelmed when we started the training. After we received our laptops and began the core programming courses, I struggled to keep up. Whenever I was finally catching up with one concept, another would come along, and at one point, I felt hopeless and thought about going back home.

My breakthrough came during the Christmas break. I didn’t go home because it was too far. Instead, I stayed with Esther’s family — my friend who was two cohorts ahead of me. It wasn’t a holiday for us; it was a learning marathon. I could see codes even in my sleep. Esther’s kindness in helping explain certain concepts to me before she studied for her own courses went a long way. That break gave me the chance to catch up and even move ahead of the class.

When we resumed, I experienced my most memorable period. The entire class was given a task, and for the first time, my name was written on the board as one of the first to finish it. The competitive nature of my class helped me become the software engineer I am today. Seeing people always active and coding all day motivated me to keep going. I know for a fact that if I had tried to learn online or on my own, I wouldn’t have been able to see it through.

Thanks to my friend’s referral to Semicolon, the facilitators who encouraged me, and my determination to build myself, I’ve gone from being unsure of what I wanted to becoming an intern as a frontend engineer. My future is secured.