This article was originally posted at fearless.tech
Summer Bazemore has always described herself as the trusted support you need in your life. She pictures herself as a vice president type, ready to jump in and help someone build their dream.
“If somebody has a vision, tells me their vision and of course gets me to buy into that, then I will do everything to make that vision happen. I will deliver!”
The vision the systems engineer is supporting currently isn't someone else's, it's the vision of her own company Ey3 Technologies.
After 10+ years working as a systems engineer for General Dynamics, Paragon Systems, and MITRE, Summer initially stepped out to work on her own as an independent contractor. But talking with friend and Fearless CEO and founder Delali Dzirasa about the Hutch incubator program made her think bigger.
“It got me thinking about what I want to do exactly, what I wanted to be for my kids and what I want to leave for my children,” she said.
Summer and her husband Terry enrolled in Hutch's inaugural cohort and began the journey to growing and building their digital services company. Ey3, is a cybersecurity and systems engineering consulting group providing intelligent and innovative solutions to our customers' challenges.
Summer and Ey3 graduated from Hutch in 2020 and the company has experience supporting 5 separate DoD/IC agencies and 3 different Federal agencies.
Starting her own company wasn't something Summer originally pictured for herself but she always knew math, science, and technology had a special draw for her.
“I was in an engineering program, when I was in middle school at a magnet school,” she said. “I was able to get exposure, early exposure to engineering, and then in high school I took some preliminary computer classes, and I really liked it.”
She followed those high school computer classes with a Computer Science degree from Morgan State University and a Master's in Engineering Telecommunications from the University of Maryland.
“While I was studying at Morgan State, there were a few women in my class, but not as many as the guys. And then, when I went to the University of Maryland, College Park, I was either the only woman and or the only Black person in my classes there. So that was even more, you know, an eye opener for me. That drove me to encourage other women who are inclined in engineering and science to check out degrees and develop themselves there.”
As she looks to the next few years of Ey3's growth, she wants to make an impact for her family, her community, and for herself as she supports her vision.
“I'm probably the only business owner in my family. So it's sort of a big deal. It's a big deal. We're just pushing along, tripping, falling, scraping knees, and all that stuff, but we're pushing along, and I love it. I love to be in this position. I love to be an example to other women. And I especially love to be an example for my children.”
Fearless is working to highlight technologists of color in our community to inspire the next generation. We know how hard it can be to see yourself in an industry if you don't see anyone who is like you.We want to shine a light on the incredible people who can and should be role models for our future, more diverse tech workforce. Is there someone you think we should feature? Get in touch!