To celebrate International Girls in ICT Day, we profile Priscilla Salote Kalo, the Systems and Applications Support Officer at the Reserve Bank of Vanuatu, a 2016 Bachelor of Net-Centric Computing graduate from the University of the South Pacific and an Australia Awards Pacific Scholarship recipient.
‘I am grateful to the Australia Awards Pacific Scholarships to have given me the opportunity and for providing an excellent support for students on scholarship to ensure we all succeed’, states Priscilla who joined the ICT team at the Reserve Bank of Vanuatu in 2017. Her work includes many different challenges from simple in-house support for desktop clients and systems, to engaging in in-house application developments and core financial systems upgrades.
This young but determined woman had to work extra hard to gain a better understanding of how ICT systems work, but her interest in this male-dominated field made her excel. She encourages all young girls that whenever you have an opportunity, put yourself first and go all the way, even if you see very few female role-models in that area.
As a young mother, Priscilla has to balance her home life with her professional commitments but is grateful for the support she gets from her family. An inspiration to young girls, Priscilla is an example of breaking down gender barriers to pursue her dreams, no matter the challenge. ‘Your ability is limited by your own fear of taking the risk to challenge your intellect, but when you take the risk, you may be surprised by the end result’ Priscilla concludes.