TechStylers … April 2021

TechStylers April 2021

Welcome ...

The TechStylers April 2021 Inspirational meetup was held on Saturday 24th April 2021.  The hosts for the session were May Alhajri and Rita Okonkwo. May is a Digital Analyst with Schlumberger in Saudi Arabia.  Rita is a Microsoft Learn Student Ambassador studying Computer Engineering at the University of Benin.  Both May and Rita are on the TechStylers leaders team and had been tasked with organising the April meetup.

The session started with an introduction from May and Rita.  Each of them shared a little information about themselves and also about TechStylers.  Rita then introduced our first speaker of the evening.

Kathrin Borchert TechStylers

A passion for data ...

The first speaker of the evening was Kathrin Borchert, a Microsoft Data Platform MVP.  A self confessed ‘Power BI Addict’, Kathrin began by introducing herself with a Power BI report!  Aside from all things data related, Kathrin also loves cats and has 3 of her own.  Right on cue, one of Kathin’s cats, Atlas, made a very timely appearance.

Kathrin was made an MVP earlier this year and is very active within the Power BI community.  As well as having a passion for Power BI, Kathrin is super creative and likes to sew, knit and create logos in her spare time.

It was Kathrins husband who suggested she try consulting, and she became a consultant in 2017.  Once Kathrin had been introduced to Power BI, she was hooked and decided to make it her career.  Now Kathrin works exclusively with the Power Platform, Power BI and Azure Services.  The key piece of  advice Kathrin gave was to do what you love.  By doing this, your work becomes your passion rather than a chore.

Roma Gupta TechStylers April 2021

Let your success make the noise ...

Our second speaker of the evening was Roma Gupta.  Roma is a Dynamics 365 and Power Platform Consultant based in Johannesburg.  Active in the Community, Roma is also the D365 Champs Lead for South Africa.

Outside of work, Roma enjoys writing and reading, and believes it is very important to invest in downtime. Photography is another one of Roma’s hobbies, and some of her amazing artwork was showcased in her presentation. 

I really loved Roma’s perspective on life, and many of the quotes she used are among my favourites.  I particularly liked Roma’s advice to ‘be the change you want to see in the world’.  And also to ‘work in silence, let your success make the noise’.  

At the end of the session, May and Rita thanked everyone for attending and closed out the TechStylers April 2021 meetup.  As always a recording of the session can be found on YouTube.  Our next TechStylers session will be on the last Saturday of May, when TechStylers will be one year old!