Taja Rickettes is a Dorchester native by way of the South and Jamaica! She’s just completed a “Coding Boot Camp” through ULEM called Msimbo, which means “code” in Swahili. This program has assured her the education to aspire a dream job of working remotely and as creatively as she desires!  Her classmates nominated this natural born leader as their Class Representative.  She describes the honor as “Gratifying” because of the achievements  many of her other talented classmates had.

When I asked Taja her motivation of career choice she replied, “I decided to explore web development, because I was looking for a new challenge, something where I could learn a skill that allowed me to think critically and creatively, in an industry where I can do things that make a direct difference in the way we live and do business. I’m looking to specialize in blockchain technology, because it fascinates me, and I see how important and prevalent it will be in the near future. I also wanted to do something that would allow me to either work remotely from anywhere in the world or at least be in demand anywhere in the world, since I enjoy living in and exploring other countries.”

Taja’s career choice seems to fall in line with one of the books she’s reading called “The 4-Hour Work Week” by Timothy Ferris. It’s about finding ways to optimize your time for peak productivity, doing work that’s both fulfilling and profitable, and living a life of balance. I’ve decided to revisit this book a couple times a year to keep the concepts fresh.

Currently she manages an online mental health and wellness support group for people of color on Facebook called More Than Blue which gives her the satisfaction of helping others! Taja enjoys gardening, audiobooks, watching standup comedy, baking and trying out new recipes, DIY projects as well as traveling. Travel is a big one. It’s more a lifestyle than a hobby, and something I can see myself enjoying for the rest of my life. I connect with different cultures through their language, food, music and architecture, so I like exploring it all.Singing has always been my first love, so I’m looking forward to taking songwriting lessons in the near future. I haven’t performed in years, and I miss it. I am interested in historic architecture. Sometimes I will walk around Boston and find old buildings, research their uses, who owned them, the role of that establishment in the community over time, things like that.

When I asked Taja, where will she be in the next 5 years?  She said “In the next five years, I see myself involved in the tech industry, having increased my skills in coding to move on to consulting and freelance work. I would also like to have additional business ventures like a personal lifestyle brand and life coaching services. I would also like to do work to increase mental health awareness and wellness in communities of color through local and eventually national initiatives”.

Taja said it best when she told me some of the words she lives by:

“We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.” – Maya Angelou