This story is part of TechConnect, a series about how Facebook’s tech innovations and investments help people build deeper connections and community.
I grew up in the Caribbean, in a modest household largely isolated from technology. The typewriter I wrote my college essay on was one of the most advanced gadgets we owned. I was the first person in my family to go to college. And while I planned to study engineering when I got to Stanford, I had no idea that programming existed. My degree was in mechanical engineering, but I fell in love with coding.
As an engineer, I worked on everything from mobile games to computer networks. Then, at Netflix, some of the skills I’d built connecting the dots beyond tech and helping people develop moved me to think more about the leadership track. I grew as a leader at Netflix and had a lot of fun. But it was hard to ignore Facebook’s scale and growth opportunities when I started thinking about how to stretch myself.